Once Upon an Alternate Dimension
by shbeba
Summary: After an accident, Mamori ends up in a crazy fantasy based dimension. Full summary inside!
1. The Beginning

Once Upon an Alternate Dimension…

Author's Note: This is my first chaptered fanfic for Eyeshield 21 and it isn't a normal one. Yeah … It's really a test run to prepare myself for writing again. I'm a little rusty. The chapters will get better as they go and this will all make sense eventually.

Summary: After getting hit by a car and losing consciousness, Mamori wakes up in an odd realm where dragons kidnap fair maidens, Sena can be a dwarf, Kurita is related to some trolls and Monta is a satyr? Now Mamori must find the ultimate book to return back to a dimension that makes a lot more sense then this one. But first she must face untold perils of this upside down dimension.

Mamori and Hiruma stood eye to eye in a battle of wits while the rest of the team cowered in the bleachers. This had to be the worst fight they had ever seen for five reasons:

One: Mamori never swore in her life until now.

Two: Hiruma looked like he was about to kill Mamori.

Three: Someone had called from down the street asking if everyone was okay.

Four: The counselor had signed both up for conflict mediation and anger management.

Five: It had been going on for the last half-hour with no signs of slowing down.

"Should I call 911 just in case?" Sena whispered worriedly to Monta.

"No … I think Hiruma is leaving," Monta whispered back. "But then why is Mamori following him?"

"What were they fighting about in the first place?" Togano asked.

The entire team looked at each other, everyone wondering the same thing.

"Hiruma! Get back here! We're not through yet!" Mamori screamed hot on Hiruma's heels.

"Yes, we are, you freaking bitch! Now leave me the fuck alone!" Hiruma returned right back.

"When hell freezes over, you bastard son of a jackal!" Mamori retorted angrily.

Hiruma stiffened a bit but continued as if Mamori wasn't even saying a word to him and started across the parking lot.

The football team was creeping up slowly from behind; a few sharing confused faces, some betting on the fight, others (such in Sena's case) were praying for God's mercy, while the rest were relieved that it was finally over.

Mamori stopped half-way across the parking lot. "Fine! Run away you coward! Just because you can't take some–"

A car brake screeched and Mamori turned her head in frozen shock. The car attempted in vain to stop but it wasn't enough. The last thing she remembered before losing consciousness was someone screaming about calling an ambulance.

Mamori moaned a bit before rolling over. "I be thinking she be waking up," someone whispered nearby.

"That was some blow to the head don't ya think. She has a head harder than a block of marble," a deep rumbling voice declared.

Mamori opened her eyes to see Sena leaning over her, staring intently. "Sena? What are you doing?" she asked attempting to sit up.

"Shhh. Ye be okay Mamori. Ye be safe in ya warm bed against the bitta cold. Tat was some amazing recovery," the boy replied happily.

"Sena … since when do you have an odd accent?" she yawned.

"Well … I be a dwarf remember? Me people talk dis way," Sena answered giving her an odd look. "Ye must 'ave hit ya head 'arder then ye thought!"

"We were so worried about you! I just about cried a river!" the deep voice cried.

Turning, Mamori saw Kurita hunched over as if the room wasn't quite big enough for him. "You look like a troll Kurita! What happened when I was knocked out?"

Kurita smiled. "I am a troll … or I'm related to some. But on to more important things … Right, Sena?"

"Right. Now Mamori, ye 'ave been selected for the yearly sacrifice to the dreaded HaHa dragon." Sena said grimly. "We 'ave ta save ye before it be to late."

"The '_HaHa dragon'_?" Mamori asked incredulously. "I am supposed to believe that? Did Hiruma put you up to this?"

Kurita gasped and Sena clasped a hand around her mouth. "Be you daff! Nar speak the name of that accursed traitor! To do that is ta invite death!"

The door to the room slammed open and three armored men came in grabbing Mamori roughly. "Come. It is time to take you to the sacrifice pole," one of them said grimly.

Sena rushed forward but was barred by the other two. "Ye can't take 'er! She be the most kind 'earted person in this land!" he protested.

The two guards threw the protesting dwarf back into the room ignoring him. They slammed the door shut and locked it tight as someone pounded on the door.

Inside, Kurita sniffled a bit and started to watch his feet. "I'm sorry that I'm a pacifist troll Sena Goldenlegs. It's just I don't like violence."

Sena sighed and ceased his banging. "Well it be up to Monta to save the lass. But it be odd to me that a big lug like ye wit the last name Bonecruncher was a hippie."

"I hope she is okay…" Kurita sobbed ignoring Sena's comment.

Mamori was rushed unkindly to a wooden cart barred on all sides and thrown in hurriedly. "What is the big hurry?" she demanded of the guard who had grabbed her. "Where are we going?"

"Well miss, in the drawing for a maiden to sacrifice, we pulled your name and so you must be taken to Deimon High Hill to give you to the dreaded HaHa Dragon. I do apologize, Mamori ... I do believe you're heart is pure but this is how fate works," the man explained before signaling to the driver to go.

It was a long bumpy ride through the town. Everyone stared ashen faced at her as the cart rolled past. She had a sinking feeling that this was not a ploy. The cart stopped for a while by a gate to talk to the guard. "You better be careful; I think I saw a few Devil Imps out in the woods today. Nasty buggers," he warned the driver as he opened the gate wide to let the cart and guards pass by.

The girl sunk against the side of the cart. It wasn't an illusion, but it was sure one crazy dream. She watched the trees pass by in a blur when something caught her eye. It looked like Monta, but Monta wasn't a goat. But who really knew in this strange world. She leaned closer to the bars to get a better look but the figure had already disappeared. "Someone explain this to me…" she whispered softly.

She jolted awake as the cart finally came to a stop. Blinking wearily she looked around. It was an amazing view from where she was. She could see the woods they had traveled through during the night, part of the village and off in the distance, a huge mountain arose. "Come on, Miss. It is time to get you ready for the sacrifice."

Mamori was escorted to a pole set in the ground and tied tightly to it. Some of the other men drove smaller poles into the ground and began to light them. Then they all piled into the cart and took off madly into the woods leaving poor Mamori tied to a pole surrounded by torches.

The girl moved a bit to relieve the pressure of the rope biting into her wrists but sighed in defeat. She hoped to wake up in the doctor's office surrounded by the team worrying over her. _Not_ tied to a wooden pole waiting to be some sort of sacrifice. "Will someone explain this to me? It makes no sense!" she shouted, squirming slightly.

"Then maybe I can help you," a smug voice whispered in her ear. Mamori screamed and whipped her head around. (Other than her pinky finger, it was the only other part she could move.)

"Watch it! That almost hit me!" the voice yelled, the speaker clearly now in her face. Mamori gaped in shock as a little cupid fluttered in front of her. "What? You've never seen a helping fairy before. Now to answer your question: You are now in an alternate dimension but _also_ in your own dimension."

The girl blinked slowly before raising an eyebrow. "But … how can I be in two places at once?" Mamori questioned. "It makes no sense."

Crossing its little arms, the fairy gave her a wistful smile. "In this dimension you are perfectly fine," it began, "In your dimension however, you are at the brink of death. If you die in this dimension, you die in your dimension. So to return to your dimension, you must find the _Ultimate Book_ and find someone who is in this dimension and in the other dimension to bridge the gap," the cupid explained hurriedly.

"Wait … so where is this book?" Mamori pressed.

The cupid looked at the mountains in a worry matter. "This is all I can tell you … enter the realm where the sun doesn't shine and where all your nightmares come true. Now see ya and have a good time being eaten by the HaHa dragon!" In a puff of confetti, the fairy was gone leaving Mamori to digest all the information.

"So I have to get back to my realm using some Ultimate Book in a realm where the sun doesn't shine and all my nightmares come true. Sounds easy enough," she mumbled sarcastically. "But first to–"

An earsplitting roar filled the still air, followed by another one. Mamori sharply turned her head towards the mountain and watched as a huge shape started to arise. Her eyes widened and her legs turned to jelly at the terrible sight before her. The HaHa dragon _wasn't_ a legend … it was _real_ and it was going to eat her!

Mamori fought against the ropes, tears springing to her eyes. She couldn't die! She had so much to live for!

She was about to scream as the dragon came closer when a furry hand clamped over her mouth. "Shh! I'll get you out of here! Just wait a minute and don't make a sound!" a voice hissed in her ear. Mamori quickly nodded and relaxed a bit. Who was this guy saving her? A knife started to quickly cut the ropes, releasing her instantly.

The same hand that had been clasped over her mouth was now clutching her hand and leading her down the hill and into a corpse of tree. Mamori half-slid half-stumbled after her savior and landed heavily next to him, ducking out of sight of the pole.

"Now we have to help Sena and Kurita," her savior whispered hastily. "Inhumans are not taken kindly in these parts."

Turning her head to thank him, she paused and dropped her jaw in surprise. "Monta? You're a goat?"

Monta glared at her. "I prefer a satyr if you please," he snorted. "I hate it when people call me a goat."

"I'm very sorry. It just I don't understand anything that's going on here," Mamori mourned.

"Apology accepted. Now keep it down! The HaHa Dragon is here!"

The dragon made a semi-graceful landing on top of the hill, its three heads craning downward toward the pole. "Hey, Juumonji! There ain't anyone here! Now what will we do?" the left head said to the middle one.

"I don't know! What do you think, Kuroki?" replied the middle and addressing to the right.

"I think we should burn the entire village to the ground and carry off a few more people to please his evilness," Kuroki responded. "What do you say about that, Togano?"

"I think that is a great idea! But what if his evilness decides it isn't a good idea?" Togano wondered.

"I don't think so. He did send a lot of the Devil Imps to this area. Maybe it has finally happened! Maybe the one of two dimensions has come! His evilness will be pleased!" Juumonji crowed.

"So are we agreed?" Togano asked his fellow heads.

"Agreed!" the other two chorused. The dragon then lurched forward; all three heads stretched forward roaring before bringing its bulky body after it.

Mamori sighed in relief. "I guess that is the last we will see of them."

"Come on, Mamori! We have to get to the village before that dragon does! Hurry!" Monta yelled springing to his feet and taking of down the hill.

"Why?" Mamori yelled running down the hill behind the wily satyr. "That dragon is about to attack it! We will be burned to a crisp, ripped apart and who knows what else!"

Monta stopped and whirled around angrily. "Because we need to save Sena and Kurita or they will be caught in this attack. Didn't you hear? The Lord of the Sunless Land has okayed this village for termination meaning no one gets away. Now hurry!" Monta took off again in long leaps into the woods.

Mamori shuddered at the sound of a dragon shriek. "Well, Sena and Kurita are my friends, even if this is an alternate dimension. It is what I would do … but why did it have to be a _dragon_?" she cried before taking off after Monta.

So how was my first attempt? Good, bad, in-between? Please give me feedback!

See ya all later!


	2. Flight to the White Kingdom

The Flight to the White Kingdom

The second chapter! Please enjoy! And no, I am not dead!

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Eyeshield or else I would be a millionaire in a mansion instead of a hobo in a cardboard box duplex with my dog.

So far: Mamori has now realized she is another dimension. To return to her realm, she must find a book in the land where the sun doesn't shine and all her nightmares can come true.

Who is who?

Sena: A dwarf with a thick accent.

Kurita: A troll who is a pacifist. Last name is Bonecruncher.

Monta: A satyr. That's about all we know.

Hiruma: They mentioned he was a traitor…

Ha Ha Brothers: A three headed dragon that works for his evilness.

Mamori teared through the forest after Monta in the direction of the village.

'I must be crazy … I just have to be' her mind cried out as she caught her pants on another bramble in her way.

Monta didn't even seem to notice as he leapt gracefully through the forest as light as cloud while she followed noisily, sounding much like a herd of buffalo.

"Mamori! Please hurry! They need our assistance quickly or they're going to be char-boiled and served up hot!" the satyr cried, glancing back at the struggling girl.

"I'm coming! This is harder than it looks!" she yelled back, leaping a small stream.

A few minutes had passed before the sky lit up red from the fire of the village. Mamori could feel the heat radiating from the inferno and high pitched squeals could be heard from all around them.

"Monta … the driver was told that there were Devil Imps around … Should we worry about them?" Mamori asked cautiously.

"Of course, we should! Devil Imps are the most maxi-evil! They love to feast on anything they can get their jaws on. They're the most _devourous_ creatures in the land next to Cerberus!" Monta yelled over his shoulder.

Mamori couldn't get another word in as the town came into sight. Or what was left of it. Everything was ablaze and odd monsters ran hither and thither, making the squealing cries she had heard in the forest.

Two of the creatures turned and stared at her with eager glee shimmering in their hungry red eyes. Their squeals increased as more turned to stare. Then they began to approach Mamori.

"Devil Imps …" Monta growled pulling out a knife. "And quite a lot of them too."

The Devil Imps circled their intended prey with hunger. Drool dripped out of their teeth-filled mouths; they were just aching for a bit of juicy satyr or young girl.

Mamori had the sudden sense of deja vu when she realized they looked just like the Devil Bats mascot.

"Mamori, do you happen to have a weapon or even some magic at hand? You being an accomplished mage and all," Monta asked worriedly.

Mamori just stared in dismay at this statement confirming the satyr's worry. "Then I guess where Devil Imp food," he growled in fear.

Suddenly the imps scattered shrieking in surprise as a few in the back where sent flying into the air head or tail as someone began to fight towards the two cornered heroes.

"Monta! Is the lass safe!" a familiar voice yelled; a very familiar voice.

"Sena!" Mamori cried out in joy. Even if this was an upside down dimension, it was still great to know he still cared.

"Hurry it up, Sena! These imps are hungry for a snack!" Monta yelled kicking out at a Devil Imp. The creature leaped back while nursing a bloody nose, its shrieks getting angrier.

Mamori didn't know what to do. With no weapon at hand, she really wished that she could borrow Hiruma's rocket launcher if only for a minute. She backed away from the ravaging horde that was continuing to grow.

She tripped suddenly and landed hard on her rear end. She heard a happy shriek. Turning her eyes widen at the sight of the closing in Devil Imp. Its maw opened wide in a most unpleasant leer giving her a good view of its stained teeth.

Mamori shuffled back as fast as she could but the thing ran towards her, ready to render the flesh from her bones. She closed her eyes and awaited the inevitable end. She could smell the creature's foul breath and could practically feel its teeth over her skin.

But the bite never happened. She cracked her eye open to an amazing sight. There stood Kurita holding the thing by the tail and spinning it over his head like a mace. The Devil Imp shrieked as Kurita let its tail go making go flying over the entire town.

Mamori only gaped in awe. The rest of the imps backed up and shared a few glances.

"That be a close one lass," Sena smiled, extending a hand. Mamori returned the smile while still staring at the horde of Devil Imps.

"Are they going to attack again or just sit there?" Mamori whispered to the dwarf.

Sena looked back at the horde. "I don't know. They might or they might not…"

One of the imps suddenly shrieked and was soon followed by the rest of the pack. Mamori clapped her hands to her ears to block out the wail.

The answering call was the shriek of a three headed dragon. "This just keeps getting better and better …" Monta groaned as said dragon started crashing towards them.

"Hey! I think I see some people, Juumonji!" cried the left head excitedly.

"No duh. You win the Mr. Obvious-Head award for today," growled an irritated Juumonji.

Mamori started to back away from the oblivious dragon before turning tail and running away with the others hoping the dragon would keep itself distracted.

"That isn't fair!" complained Togano, (the left head).

"Your mom isn't fair!" snapped Kuroki angrily. "Now let's eat them."

"We share the same mom, dimwit, and I want to roast them not eat them. Besides didn't we eat enough already? Our stomach is about to burst!" Juumonji yelled at the right head.

"Um … I think they're getting away. Maybe we better give chase since we're not suppose to leave any survivors!" screeched Togano.

The other two heads watched the fleeing backs of their intended victims, angrily. "Then let's show them the true might of a three headed dragon!" Juumonji roared with glee.

Mamori had never been this freaked out in his entire life. She could deal with Hiruma, he was somewhat human, but a dragon that stood taller than the school with three heads spitting fire was over just insane. What they needed now was Godzilla to appear to fight off the dragon.

"I don't think we're going to make it!" cried Kurita. He was panting heavily and lagging behind.

Mamori glanced around frantically. Praying for a miracle that something could be used against the Ha Ha trio…that was it!

Mamori turned and took in a big breath and yelled the 'magic word': "_Pictures_!"

The dragon halted and all six eyes widened in fear.

"How did she know?" cried Togano.

"We have to get out of here! We have to or else they'll see the …" Juumonji started to whimper at the end, leaving the left head to finish.

"Pictures of us taken by the banished Demon Lord!" Kurita shrieked in terror.

The dragon launched itself into the air and flew off in great fear. Mamori was shocked that something that worked in her world could work here. She turned and watched the others looking at her with awe and a bit of suspicion.

"What?" she asked.

"No one has ever defeated the Ha Ha Dragon," Kurita said with awe in his voice.

"Yeah, and they mentioned it was of something of the late Demon Lord's doing," Sena mused.

"So? I don't even know who this guy is," Mamori protested, finally realizing the suspicion.

"Well … maybe you should. But now is not the time. Let's get out of here before this whole town falls on us!" cried Monta, grabbing her hand and dragging her off toward the woods.

A few hours later Mamori found herself sitting around a campfire roasting meat dumplings. Everyone was enjoying their meal in the quiet night, even Mamori, who hadn't really had a chance to relax since entering this crazy place.

"So can you tell me about this Demon Lord so I can understand all of this a bit more?" she asked politely to her companions.

The other three glanced around before Monta stepped up to tell his tale.

"Sorry about not telling you about him. We all thought you knew, being the arch mage of Deimon High," Monta began off-handily. "To make a long story short … the Demon Lord we're talking about is Hiruma. He used to rule over the land where the sun does not shine about five hundred years ago before being banished."

"Then why is everyone so jumpy when someone mentions him if he is gone?" Mamori questioned.

"I'm getting there! Hold your horses. Now where was I?" Monta snapped.

"Ye be getting to the reason he was banished," Sena supplied.

"Oh, yeah! Well anyways, he was accused of some crime. No one really remembers and the books never speak of it. The White Knights were sent in to capture him. They succeeded and sealed him away in some godforsaken place supposedly forever," Monta concluded.

"But now some think he came back and that is why all the Devil Imps and the dragon is attacking. His revenge …" Kurita cut in.

"Oh …" Mamori mumbled. Something Monta had said sounded familiar. Like a land that held the answer her to getting back to the real world…

"Monta! Where is this land where the sun doesn't shine!" she yelled suddenly causing her friends to jump.

"I dunno … somewhere south?" Monta answered scratching his head. "Why may I ask do you want to know?"

"I have a … er, well …" How could she say it was a way to get back home without any of them looking at her like she was a mental patient? "A … quest. I have to go to the land where the sun doesn't shine and retrieve an Ultimate Book to restore peace and harmony," she quickly lied.

"Such a noble quest! I will follow ye until me last breath!" cried Sena with honor.

Kurita nodded and sniffed a bit.

Monta grinned and jumped in the air. "All right! Finally an adventure into lands of pure danger! I can't wait! This is going to be maxi-cool!"

Mamori gave a relieved smile that her fib had fooled them. "That's great to hear. So we can start on our quest tomorrow?"

"Nah, lass. We need to recruit a brave knight for that," Sena mused. "The White Knights are the best in the land. We should request their services."

Monta snorted. "Why would they help a half troll, a dwarf without a beard, a mage with barely any magic and a satyr? Get real, Sena."

"That may be the case, but I be a good friend of Sir Shin the Mighty," Sena said smugly.

"You're kidding! _The _Sir Shin? The one who sent the Nagas packing with a brandish of his spear, who made even the bravest demons fear for their lives, and whose speed is practically unmatched by any mere mortal?" Monta gawked in open shock.

"The same. Me and him be old rivals from our younger days. He would surely help us out."

"That also means that Sir Sakuraba the Ever Popular will be joining too! You can always use a good archer by your side," Kurita added as he took a bite out of his bun.

Mamori watched them talk excitedly amoung themselves. The evening wasn't turning out to be bad at all. She looked at the stars high above; each one shining so bright with no street lights to take away their beauty.

The stars never shone so magnificently in Japan. Never. She felt her eyelids become heavy and she yawned before curling up off to sleep.

"So we all be in agreeing on going to Ojolot?" Sena asked.

"Here here!" yelled Kurita.

"Yes!" agreed Monta.

"What about you, Mamori. Mamori?" Sena asked in bewilderment.

"Shhh! She is sleeping," Kurita said in a loud whisper.

"Bless her little heart! Well, we all better get some sleep. The White Kingdom is a ten mile trek from Deimon High by foot. Good night," Sena yawned, stretching out before rolling up in his bed roll.

The others, too, rolled up before falling asleep under the stars. Dreams of home, adventure, and untold peril danced in their heads.

I actually updated! WOOT! Please give me your input. Chapter three is now in progress. (I hope it didn't get deleted like this one did twice!)


	3. The Tale of the Missing Champion

The Tale of the Missing Champion

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

So far: After escaping the three headed dragon, Mamori and company now start out on their quest. But first they're going to stop at Ojolot, the home of the White Knights of the Pentagon table to recruit the most well known Knight, Shin the Mighty, and his companion Sakuraba the Ever Popular. But they run into a major complication upon arriving …

Who is who:

Mamori: Herself, of course. The others are convinced she is an arch mage. Who knew pictures could do that to a dragon?

Sena: A dwarf and friendly rival of Shin the Mighty.

Monta: A satyr; all that is said about him right now. He does play the flute sometimes …

Kurita: A half-troll that is a noted pacifist but can throw a Devil Imp pretty far.

Ha Ha trio: A three headed dragon that is afraid of the demon lord Hiruma.

Hiruma: Previous Demon Lord of the land where the son doesn't shine. Supposedly was sealed up but most people think he is loose again.

Shin the Mighty: A White Knight and champion of the land. Yeah … that's about it…

Sakuraba the Ever Popular: Another White Knight. He will always be popular … snirk

-0-0-

Mamori was never so tired in her entire life. Since morning the group had been trekking along large expansions of grassy plains on a pothole ridden highway.

Yet for being tired, she had never been so excited. The White Kingdom capital, Ojolot, stood on the horizon as a shining white blurb almost as if beckoning them to its gates to have a little rest.

Mamori glanced at her companions. Each one looked similar to her friends back home yet slightly different.

Kurita smiled as a butterfly landed on his shoulder. Standing at about eight feet tall, slightly stooped shoulders, and a bit of a jutting lower jaw, he struck an impressive figure. His familiar chestnut-shaped head gave her a lot of comfort with his friendly nature.

Sena trudged next to the giant and was talking good naturedly with Monta. Both were still about the same height but Sena's large boots gave him a few inches. Mamori was thankful Sena still looked like Sena, excluding the outfit he was wearing. Still the same shy, boy-manager from before.

Monta on the other hand was goat up to his navel. His bandy goat legs gave him a small spring in his step and she knew first hand he could really take off if he wanted to. He wore a red shirt with the number eighty sewn poorly onto the back. The whole look was topped with two horns poking out from his hair.

She sighed and returned her gaze to the vast grassy plains. It was so repetitive out here … a tree was a rarity and she wished for a building or two.

"So Mamori, have you ever been to Ojolot?" Monta asked.

"No never. What's it like?"

"Well …" began Monta placing a hand to his chin, "To begin with: it's huge! It has three hundred inns, six hundred gyms, seven hundred Sakuraba novelty stores, and the biggest shopping mall on this side of the Taiyo desert."

"I see …" she said, quite baffled as well as speechless by how popular Sakuraba was in both worlds.

"Don't forget their king, King Shogun …err, Shoji. Supposedly some lady in a lake threw out a magic sword and declared him king of Ojolot. Thus the White Knights were born," Sena supplied sheepishly.

"Kind of sounds like King Arthur, except he had a famous wizard named Merlin," Mamori said, half to herself, half to her companions.

"Merlin? Never heard of him but there is a wizard who resides with the king. His name is Takami the Calculative," Monta interjected.

"You know … I always wondered why all the knights had those long epithets after their names …" Kurita murmured.

"It makes them feel better about themselves," the satyr smirked. "I, on the other hand, don't need any long name to be known throughout the land."

Mamori shared a smile as the others shared a laugh. She looked up again at the large grassy field that remained between them and the White Kingdom.

The kingdom was the largest place she had ever stood next to so far in the strange realm. Mamori had to crane her neck to look up towards the peak of the city gates. The white walls of blasted stone rose hundreds of feet high, surrounding the entire city in a white cocoon. The walls, she noted, were super thick. The entire Devil team could line up shoulder to shoulder with plenty of room to spare.

"Whoa … amazing!" she gasped in awe.

"Yeah ..." Monta agreed, just as stunned with the sheer size.

The city inside, although not as massive, made up for it with its wide array of people, shops, and otherwise busy streets. It was such a sight to behold that Mamori could hardly believe it all.

The huge lumbering carts ladened with armor and weapons, the people bartering over the latest issue of Sakuraba Monthly … it was simply too much to take in.

"We need to go to the palace to locate Shin. He usually hangs around where there be less people. A word of warning to ye, keep away all yer magic devices. He has a nasty habit of breaking them," Sena explained to his stunned companions.

"So … uh, where is the castle in all of this?" Mamori asked.

Sena grinned and gestured toward the walls. "You just be passing it! The entire city is _in _the castle!"

Mamori gawked at him. If it was possible, her jaw would have continued to drop until it hit the ground. "That is the castle?" she shrieked.

Sena nodded. "To get into the castle ye be needing clearance … now if only we could find another knight."

Monta looked up at Sena from where he was examining a vast array of flowers. "Another knight? What is the chance another knight is wandering around?"

"Kurita! How are you old friend!" a deep base voice called out.

All four turned and beheld a large man, grinning like a lunatic.

"Oh. Hi, Sir Otawara the Indiscreet. Long time, no see," Kurita smiled waving to the large knight.

"Kurita! No need for formalities! Just call me Otawara Skullsmasher! A fellow half-troll of Joka Machi!" Otawara grinned, slapping Kuirta on the back.

Monta just shook his head in disbelief. "Someone up there really likes us …" he murmured.

"Now Kurita," Otawara began, leading Kurita away by the shoulder, "Join me for a drink at the Drunken Dwarf. We can catch up on old times!"

Sena looked at his feet and refused to show everyone he was blushing like mad at the name of the inn. Monta smirked and nudged the dwarf. "That super hero Eyeshield 21 sure did make an impression!"

Mamori only watched in confusion at this. Were Sena and Eyeshield 21 still on even terms? Even in this world?

"Wait, Otawara, I need to … we need a favor of you," Kurita said, pulling away from the other half troll.

"Speak and it shall be done!" Otawara boomed striking a noble pose ruined only by the large fart that snuck out at the end.

A mighty fart at that. Monta wrinkled his nose and placed a hand over his face. Sena looked a little green and was about to fall over in dead faint. Mamori sighed. Some things never changed …

"We need you to …" Kurita began slowly before being interrupted.

"… accompany you on a quest? Fight horrendous monsters? Fight for a fair maiden's hand in a tournament? Slay a demon upon a white stallion?" Otawara cut in excitedly.

"Err … no. We need a pass to see Sir Shin in the White Palace," Kurita answered back.

Mamori watched the grin and good nature attitude fade slowly from the knight's face. His shoulders slumped and he turned away.

"Sir Shin isn't here anymore … He rejoined with the great gods above …" he whispered with barely contained sorrow. "Sakuraba was the only survivor of that event in the Zokugaku Mountains. An invading army of Devil Fiends led by a Warlord caught Sir Shin and Sakuraba on their return journey from Lake Tong …"

"I'm sorry …" Mamori whispered feeling genuinely touched.

The others nodded and Sena bowed his head but everyone could tell he was crying. "May god be with ye, Shin …" he whispered.

-0-0-

A few minutes later, the four found themselves sitting in a bar in the midst of happy chatter. But they themselves were not in the same mood as the atmosphere. The death of a fine knight had wounded everyone. Sena mourned for a friend. Kurita and Monta for a fine man and protector.

Mamori watched their spirits fade and felt their depression as it hung heavy in the air. "Excuse me … I'm going to get a drink of water," she whispered. Her only response was a nod of Monta's head and a glance from Sena.

Mamori weaved her way through the jostling crowd toward the bar. The crowd moved about in a daze of happiness and continued on if nothing had happened.

"I wonder if I'll ever get home," she wondered out loud. Suddenly someone knocked her over and she hit the ground hard. Mamori panicked a bit and threw her hands up where someone promptly grabbed it.

"Thank you," she sighed in relief.

"You're welcome, Mamori, even if you're not from this realm," her rescuer returned.

Mamori looked up instantly at her rescuer and was met with a thin face with glasses and a tall wizard cap. "Takami!"

The quarterback smiled and bowed. "Takami the Calculative at your service, Mamori of another dimension. How do I know? I can see these things. Only one of high magical capabilities can tell. Yes, I am an all powerful arch mage."

Mamori blinked as all her questions were answered. "Err …"

"You must talk with Sakuraba and from there you will find Shin. You will also find two very unexpected allies in the Zokugaku Mountains," Takami added, pushing his glasses up a bit before fading out. "He is over there at the bar …"

Mamori blinked before looking quizzically at the bar. "Sakuraba is here?" she asked out loud.

She spotted the knight, sprawled over a bar table with an empty glass clutched in one hand. Many empty ones laid around him and the same depression that hung over her friends hung over his head as well. She had no idea what to say to him.

"Um, excuse me …" she asked timidly, tapping his shoulder. He jerked up and glanced with blurred eyes at her.

"Sorry … I am not in the mood to sign autographs. I lost my … my …" he trailed off, his eyes starting to water.

"Your best friend," she finished.

He sat upped and slammed his fist. "No! I didn't lose him! He is still alive! I know it! He wasn't capture by the Devil Fiends or the Warlord. Habashira captured him!"

-0-0-

Cliffhanger of a sort. And a bit short. Well chapter four will have Hiruma appearing. Not the next one, but the next, next one. Yeah …

I'm sorry if this seems slow ...;

Well, anyways … review!


	4. Renewed Journey and a new Companion

The Journey Renewed and a New Companion

Note of Gratitude: To all of you who reviewed: Thank you a lot! You have kept me on track to update almost regularly! _Thank you_ once again.

Disclaimer: I don't own … blah … I wish I did!

So far: Mamori and co. had reached the White Kingdom only to discover that Sir Shin was dead. After an encounter with a wizard named Takami, Mamori was told to ask Sakuraba what happened and through him find Shin. The wizard also mentioned two new allies …

Who is Who? (This list is getting pretty long now …)

Mamori: Herself still.

Monta: A satyr. A half-goat, half-man creature. Plays a flute.

Sena: A dwarf who was friends with Shin only as a rival.

Eyeshield 21: A super hero … (He is also Sena.)

Kurita: A half-troll from Joka Machi and kinsmen of Otawara. A pacifist with a last name Bonecrusher.

Ha Ha trio: A three-headed dragon with a fear of pictures.

Shin: The lead White Knight of Ojolot and is now dead. Or is he …?

Sakuraba: The only survivor of a devastating ambush. He feels responsible for Shin's death. The only bow master and ranger of the White Knights.

Takami: The equivalent of Merlin. Very wise and can read minds. First to realize Mamori was from another dimension.

Otawara: A half-troll from Joka Machi and kinsmen of Kurita. A White Knight that loves a good quest and is a little absentminded. Last name is Skullsmasher.

Hiruma: A Demon Lord who disappeared 500 hundred years ago. People think he has escaped from his prison and is now wrecking havoc again.

Habashira: A Bandit Lord located in the Zokugaku mountains.

Enjoy chapter four!

-0-0-

Mamori stepped back as Sakuraba lurched upwards on unsteady legs. His eyes blurred and unfocused. "He is alive!" he yelled at her in hysteria. " I must save him! He would do the same for me!"

"Calm down! Please!" Mamori urged to the clearly drunken knight.

Sakuraba blinked slowly before sinking back into his chair, groaning. "How can I? Shin is out there and he needs my help. It's all my fault …" He placed his head in his hands and a sob shook his body.

Mamori sat next to him and placed a comforting hand on his back. She finally got a good look at the knight now that she was closer. He sat there wearing only a plain brown breeches and a matching brown shirt. His knee high black boots we scuffed and were already stained with dirt. His disheveled hair finished the look of a man too far gone in depression.

"There, there … tell me what happened," she gently cooed. Being Sena's support and protector had trained her well in the way of comforting people. Her English teacher had told her that she could be a future guidance counselor.

"We were riding toward the White Kingdom through a pass in the Zokugaku Mountains when a surprise attack of Demon Fiends lead by a warlord appeared. Shin and his men got separated. I tried to get to him but …" Sakuraba's voice cracked and he looked up.

"He was gone. Just like that … it wasn't the fiends or the warlord. They were as confused as me. It was the Bandit Lord, the Chameleon, who did it, but after that the fiends attacked us. Thanks to Eyeshield 21, I was able to escape with the remnants of my men and Shin's. It has been four days since."

Mamori nodded and stroked his back. "My friends and I need to obtain his services but after we heard of his death it killed our spirit. But maybe you're right … maybe there is hope …" she told the knight she was comforting.

Sakuraba glanced up, hope shining in his eyes. "Really? You mean it or are you just another fan girl?"

Mamori smiled and shook her head. "No, I'm not a fangirl I'm Mamori … err, an arch mage of Deimon High Hill. We're on a dangerous quest to the land where the sun doesn't shine."

Sakuraba leapt up but swayed slightly as his drunken state finally caught up with him. He collapsed again into his seat and moaned. "Why did I have to drink? Everything just happened so fast …" he murmured.

Mamori watched the knight sit in contemplation. His hands folded as he stared straight ahead. "They would've rather had me die than Shin. He was more of a hero than I could ever be," he blurted suddenly.

"Don't talk like that!" Mamori gasped, eyes-wide. But, deep down she knew it was true even in her world. Yet, he had made a change for the better back in her realm so maybe …

"Then you'll have to prove them wrong! We'll help you find Shin and then maybe both of you can help us retrieve an all powerful book from the land where the sun doesn't shine," Mamori assured him, hope shining brightly in her eyes.

Sakuraba looked up skeptically; a flicker of belief could be seen behind his eyes. He stood, steadying himself against the table. "So you believe I can … do this? You'll actually help me?"

"Of course, what are friends for?" Mamori smiled warmly and extended a hand. "Anyways we will need a bow master on this trip."

Sakuraba grinned and clasped her hand. "To the glory of the White Kingdom, my lady," he proclaimed with a newfound smile of gratitude.

"To the glory of the White Kingdom … and home …" she whispered.

-0-0-

A few hours later, Mamori was standing with the others inside a stable near the Drunken Dwarf, waiting on Sakuraba to arrive with his weapons and armor. When she had introduced him to the others, the response had been immediate. They were going to the Zokugaku Mountains to find Shin.

Yet the words of Takami were ringing in her head _… 'you will also find two very unexpected allies in the Zokugaku Mountains …'_

"Mamori, lass? Ye be looking troubled," Sena asked, concern in his voice. "Ye be thinking about our quest?"

"I was just thinking about something someone told me … nothing important," she said, smiling.

"The Zokugaku Mountains … The home of the most notorious thief ever: Habashira the Chameleon. Here one moment and gone the next …" Monta muttered. "This is going to be maxi-hard."

Mamori shook her head at it all. First Sena, Monta, Kurita, the White Knights, and now Habashira. Who was next? Maybe …

"Have you ever heard the legend of the Zokugaku Mountains?" whispered Monta to Sena mysteriously.

Sena shook his head. "I not be wanting to hear those tales, Monta. They give me the heebie jeebies."

The stable door suddenly bounced open with a panting Sakuraba running in and latching the door quickly behind him. Everyone in the stable gave him a funny look before they heard a crowd of fangirls and fanboys screaming and running by the stable.

"I wish I had the girls chasing me …" Monta sighed wistfully.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting everyone! I just had to pick up a few things from Takami's tower for the trip," Sakuraba said, bowing apologetically.

Mamori rose from her seat and brushed off the hay. "So, is everyone ready to start the journey to the Zakugaku Mountains? The Inn Keeper said it would take about a week to reach them."

"It would … normally." Sakuraba answered with a sly grin, "But Takami gave me the creampuff jumper. It is set to take us to the Zokugaku Mountains with a single bite."

Kurita smiled and clapped his hands. "I just _love_ those puffs! I heard they use milk instead of water!"

Everyone gathered around Sakuraba as he passed out pieces of the cream puff. Mamori wondered what it would feel like to be suddenly transported thousands of miles away in a few seconds.

Kurita must have saw the trepidation on her face for he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It isn't bad. Just a little spinning but it goes quick."

"So, now what? I heard these things are hard to plan where they're going to drop us …" Monta stated.

"Only if you don't eat it simultaneously. We eat it at the same time and then we will all end up in the same place. Somewhere close to where Sir Shin was taken custod," Sakuraba replied with a shrug.

Suddenly a loud thump was heard against the door followed closely by another one. Soon squeals of joy and shouts were heard as the pounding became more desperate. "Sakuraba! He's in there!"

"I love you, Sakuraba!"

"Can I have your kids, Sakuraba!"

"Oh no … my fanclub …" Sakuraba moaned, burying his face in his hands. "We're doomed if they catch us … _doomed _…"

"The way I see it … he has more of a fan _city _out there than a club," snickered Monta to Sena.

The door was hit again by a large bang that nearly took the door off its hinges and more squeals were heard as the mob became a sea of girls and boys attempting to take a glimpse of Sakuraba.

"Come on, then! Let's take a bite of these creampuffs and be away from those daft fans!" Sena yelled as the din started to sound like an entire stadium had been built around the stable … Suddenly, the entire building began to tremble.

"What?" Mamori gasped as the entire structure began to shake violently.

"Man, Sakuraba! You have some desperate fans!" Monta yelled as he wobbled around trying to keep his balance.

"I know, I know!" Sakuraba yelled, holding back the door from the fans outside.

"Come on! We have to get going or else we become fan boot jam!" Sena cried, toppling over a hay bale.

"Right then, everybody! On three!" Sakuraba cried out, abandoning his post at the door

"One!" The door banged and almost buckled under the abuse.

"Two!" Another shove and the door had collapsed revealing Sakuraba to the teeming masses.

"_Three_!" Sakuraba shouted and everyone took a bite.

Mamori felt as if the floor had been ripped away from underneath her as she was hurled forward in a blur. She felt her stomach doing flip flops before she landed heavily on hard, unforgiving Earth.

Mamori groaned, blinked and glanced around in confusion. "Huh? Uh … where am I? … Sena? Monta? Anybody?"

"Mamori! There you are!" a loud, friendly voice cried in joy. Turning her head, she watched Kurita bound down the rocky slope towards her, not even skidding slightly on the steep incline.

"Kurita! Thank heavens! I thought I was separated from the others," she sighed in relief; glad she wasn't alone.

Kurita smiled and pointed up the slope. "They're all up there waiting for us. We were spread out a bit so we thought you might be close."

Mamori nodded and stood up slowly. But they were on a mountain with high cliffs, deep crevices, and loose gravel; gravel that Mamori realized a little too late …

Mamori felt herself slip; her feet going out from under her once more, except this time she was falling into a black abyss. Almost in slow motion, she saw Kurita's mouth open in a shout and spotted her friends gaze down in horror. A scream ripped from her throat as she felt herself fall into the dark crevice. She could remember the image of each of her friends disappearing into the background and their worried faces before her head struck something hard. In an instant, she lost consciousness.

She didn't know how long she had laid there. Hours, days, even weeks … but the pounding in her head reminded her of her fall. But why wasn't she dead? That fall and blow to the head should've killed her. It should've killed …

"Long way down, isn't it?" someone sneered, from overhead. "Too bad you fell into the Door of Displacement on the way down."

Mamori tensed and opened her eyes, wide. That _voice_ ... That mocking, sneering voice that caused even the principal to cringe in fear. Slowly climbing to her feet, she looked up and came face-to-face with a sharp-toothed grin of no other than Hiruma; standing upside down on the ceiling. She gaped in shock at him and found her voice had failed her.

"Something wrong with you, damn girl? Or do you always stare at people?"

-0-0-

Okay … I finished the chapter! Yes! Hiruma has made a small appearance here at the end for everyone who was waiting for him. You'll see why he is upside down on the ceiling and what exactly the 'Door of Displacement' is and where Shin has been taken.

Please review!


	5. The Upside Down Demon Lord

The Upside Down Demon Lord

Sorry for being late! bows I was in exile from the computer due to reasons involving a lack of a computer to work on but now I am back! _Yeah_!

Here is chapter um … five, I think … yep, five.

Disclaimer: I don't own … because I am poorer than tapeworms …

So far: Mamori and co. have departed from Ojolot but after a brief fall off a cliff, Mamori is stuck in a cave with Hiruma who is currently upside down.

Who is Who: (This list is getting pretty long now …)

Who is Who? (This list is getting pretty long now …)

Mamori: Herself still.

Monta: A satyr. A half-goat, half-man creature. Plays a flute.

Sena: A dwarf who was friends with Shin only as a rival.

Eyeshield 21: A super hero … (He is also Sena.)

Kurita: A half-troll from Joka Machi and kinsmen of Otawara. A pacifist with a last name Bonecrusher.

Ha Ha trio: A three-headed dragon with a fear of pictures.

Shin: The lead white knight of Ojolot and is now dead. Or is he…

Sakuraba: The only survivor of an attack. He feels responsible for Shin's death. The only bow master and ranger of the White Knights. Has a large following of fangirls that could probably fill a stadium and then some.

Takami: The equivalent of Merlin. Very wise and can read minds. First to realize Mamori was from another dimension.

Otawara: A half-troll from Joka Machi and kinsmen of Kurita. A White Knight that loves a good quest and is a little absentminded. Last name is Skullsmasher.

Hiruma: A Demon Lord who disappeared five hundred years ago. People think he has escaped from his prison and is now wrecking havoc again. Last chapter, he was upside down on the ceiling.

Habashira: A Bandit Lord located in the Zokugaku mountains.

The Help Fairy: A little fairy that helps Mamori who resembles Cupid's mascot.

-0-0-

"U-Um …" Mamori stuttered staring upward. "W-What are you doing here?"

"Are you stupid or something?" Hiruma asked, rolling his eyes. "I've been here for over five hundred years for God-knows-why and the blood's starting to rush to my head. If you don't know that then you are definitely a brain dead whore."

Mamori flinched and glared at him. "Of course this world had to have _you_ in it! This couldn't have been easy could it?"

"Then I'm guessing you're Mamori Anezaki from Deimon High School, manger of the football team and Sena's _bodyguard_. That explains a lot … like why you're so damn retarded," Hiruma smirked, starting at her with that all-too-familiar evil glint.

The glare Mamori shot at him disappeared as she stared in shock again at Hiruma. "How did you know!" she exclaimed.

"I find it kind of obvious. How could anyone not see that you're from some other dimension unless their eyes are located on their ass," Hiruma shrugged.

The girl ignored that last statement for she was in no mood to fight with Hiruma at the moment. Horrible things tended to happen when she did. "Takami could tell too so I guess it isn't much of a talent. I do kind of stick out …"

Hiruma snorted. "You're telling me. I can really tell from up here."

"What does that mean! Are you implying that–" Mamori yelled angrily.

"Nothing. So what are you doing here?" Hiruma interrupted.

"No! I'm not letting you just change the subject like that!" Mamori growled.

"Of course, not," the demon interjected in a sarcastic grumble before dangerously narrowing his eyes at her. "You're here because of me, right? You think it's fun almost getting hit by falling girls?"

"Well, _sorry _about that," the girl returned the sarcastic tone of the demon. "Now stop interrupting me because –"

"'I don't give a _shit_ about what you're saying'? Close enough, huh?" Hiruma finished for her, smirking uncontrollably.

"Shut up. Just _shut up_ for a minute," Mamori fumed, pointing an accusing finger at the Demon Lord.

Hiruma nodded and watched her with amusement actually listening to her for once.

"For one; stop with the insults and interruptions. Two; tell me where we are and three … how do I get away from _you_?" Mamori scolded, feeling like she was talking to a younger brother and not a high school student about to graduate.

"Whatever. See if I give a damn if you're stuck here or not. The only way out is the way you came in," Hiruma drawled, crossing his arms.

Mamori glanced around at the ceiling looking for the trapdoor, remembering how she had supposedly hit Hiruma on the way down. The ceiling was a plain of jagged rock hanging stalactites. The floor and walls of the small chamber were also the same. All around, it appeared to be a cave without an exit or an entrance.

"If you want to know; I'm standing on the door, dumbass," said the demon, watching her through slanted eyes.

"Then can you please move?" she groaned in aspiration. Mamori could just feel a migraine coming from having to deal with an irritating idiot.

"Hmm, quick question: If I could move from this spot, why would I still be standing here, Sherlock? Or do you think I enjoy standing upside down!" Hiruma asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

Mamori thought it was kind of weird to see Hiruma in the stance upside down … it was starting to annoy her next to having to keep talking to him in such a situation.

"So how do you do anything if you're stuck there?"

"I don't. I've been bored out of mind for five hundred years and it's making me crazy. Demons can go for one thousand years without eating or sleeping," Hiruma explained, sighing in agitation.

"Glad I'm not you then …" she muttered, leaning against a stalagmite.

"Thanks. I'm thankful you're not me either. If I had those looks …" Hiruma tested, watching and waiting for the reaction that was about to be unleashed from Mamori.

"You empty-headed no-good son of a–" Mamori exploded, the thin line between rage and anger had been crossed. She stood, dabbing a finger accusingly at the grinning demon with her eyes shooting rays of death, hoping to drill a hole in Hiruma's head through will alone.

"Stop it … you're making me blush," Hiruma teased with a sneer.

Mamori turned around and stomped off to the farthest corner of the room behind a large stalagmite. Sitting down behind it, she was out of Hiruma's sight and it gave her some time to think everything out.

Hiruma was stuck upside down on the door. The only way out was through that said door which meant …

"No one is going to the door from the outside. I'm guessing none of your friends have a knack for magic because they're all dumbasses," Hiruma yelled from his vantage point.

Around the stalagmite, Mamori shot him a nasty glare. "Oh, and I suppose _you _do?"

"Actually, yes. I was Lord of the land where the sun doesn't shine AKA the _Christmas Bowl_," Hiruma stated with a malicious grin plastered across his face.

"'Christmas Bowl?'"

"Most idiots don't know it is called that … The land where you're going to get back to your own realm. Right?"

"Yes," Mamori answered truthfully, turning over the new piece of information in her mind.

"Well, good luck with that, 'cause you're stuck here with me for probably three hundred more years. Congratulations," Hiruma applauded in a sarcastic matter.

"Isn't there another way to get out of here?" she cried out in desperation.

Hiruma stared at her for a while, another devilish smirk started to appear on his face.

"I can get out of here easily if someone, that is, broke the seal holding me," Hiruma commented, smiling. "You are an arch mage, aren't you?"

"You want me to set free an insane evil Demon Lord just so I can get out of here! I don't think so, Hiruma. I'm not that stupid," Mamori snorted crossing her arms, still sitting behind the stalagmite.

"Suit yourself, whore." Hiruma shrugged like it was no big deal.

Mamori leaned her head against her knees and just couldn't believe her horrible dumb luck. She was stuck in an alternate dimension with only one hope and now that was gone as she was trapped with the most cold-hearted bastard in the universe; in a cave probably as large as her room. There had to be a way to get out …

"Need help?" someone drawled from her elbow. Looking down Mamori ran into the familiar face of the helping fairy cupid.

"You again …" she sighed.

"You have a helping fairy too? What's next? A fucking half-troll and a satyr that isn't actually a satyr?" Hiruma smirked evilly.

"Shut up for once."

"Make me, whore," Hiruma shot back.

Mamori suppressed an irritated sigh and massaged her temples. She really, really felt a migraine coming on.

"Anyway, I believe I have the solution to your problem … First off, you free Hiruma and then–" the smug fairy began.

"What! Are you _mental_!" Mamori cried, blowing the little fairy over from the force in which she emphasized those four words.

Hiruma started cracking up as the little fairy was blown into a wall.

"No! I'm sane! I'm sane! You didn't let me finish! You free him and then _bind_ him to you as a servant. It's a common practice for arch mages these days," the fairy exclaimed, muffled slightly by a rock he had landed behind.

"Excuse me? A servant out of a _Demon Lord_?" Mamori whispered blinking in confusion. Now that was a very ironic twist of fate …

"Yes. It can happen easily. Just listen to me and nothing can go wrong!" the fairy said, his voice filled with pride.

"Just listen to a little man in a diaper … Yep, you're a dumbass," Hiruma muttered, nodding in agreement with himself.

Mamori shot Hiruma a glare and turned her attention to the fairy. "As you were saying?"

The fairy smiled and beckoned her closer as he pulled out a red piece of chalk and handed it to Mamori. "Now listen carefully to what I am about to say …"

Mamori sat back and looked at her handy work. The fairy had helped her set up each 'arcane rune' and circle as he called it. Hiruma watched half in amusement. He surprising hadn't said a word the entire time.

"Okay … that about does it, right?" she asked, turning toward her small companion.

"No … it's missing the release symbol. If you don't add that, then he'll be bound to you forever," the fairy explained, opening up a small guide. "It says here you have several choices for release symbols … I don't know which one you would want to use so you decide."

Mamori held out her palm as the fairy laid the small book, no bigger than a thimble on her outstretched hand. The fairy grinned and looked up. "I'm borrowing this book from the most powerful arch mage in the world for a few minutes. Chose carefully though; some of these releases have more consequences than others once you release your servant."

Mamori looked at the small pages but could barely make out the little symbols. They were so small and crunched together that it looked like one large blur to her.

"Um …how about the one on the top left corner?" she mumbled squinting in vain to see the letters.

"Alright … it seems easy and has a minor consequence. Nothing serious …" the fairy mumbled placing a hand on his chin. "Yes, this will definitely work."

Mamori took up the red chalk and looked expectantly at her diminutive partner.

"First draw a line …. here!" the fairy announced, landing in-between two circles. "Then go diagonal from the left circle to the right in a curved line so it resembles a half moon."

Mamori nodded and drew in the half circle as instructed. "And then what?" she asked.

"Then draw in a star here and … here," the fairy explained, landing in each spot to indicate where the twin stars were to be placed. "Then all we need is a drop of blood in between the two stars and its done."

Mamori paused while drawing the second star and looked up in a bit of surprise. "Blood?"

"Of course … you think it's the symbols that binds a demon, idiot?" Hiruma snorted in agitation. "You humans are so idiotic …"

Mamori glared up at Hiruma as she pricked her finger with a sharp rock. "As soon as you're free I am going to forbid you from saying anything …" she growled.

"Oh … so _scary_," Hiruma grumbled, rolling his eyes.

The helping fairy looked at Mamori and bit his lip, worriedly. "Um … can we hurry up? The longer the binding circle stays there the easier it is to break."

"Okay … how do you start the spell?"

"Just place the blood in-between the stars and say 'Release of Sealant'," the fairy instructed, before disappearing in a puff of confetti.

Mamori pressed the small droplet of blood that had formed on the end of her wounded finger in-between the stars as she closed her eyes. Taking a breath she chanted the three words to complete the spell: "Release of Sealant."

A sudden flash of light, followed by a jolting shock up her arm, caused her to gasp when the final word rolled off her tongue. Her eyes flew open to a wild whirlwind of sparks and colors before they settled down. The pain in Mamori's arm began to dull as the spell died off.

Mamori looked up to find Hiruma missing from his post. A sudden chill of fear went down her spine.

Mamori rose and looked around quickly trying to locate the Demon Lord while trying to reassure herself that he hadn't abandoned her in the cave.

"I'm right behind you … Rasezi," someone drawled from behind her.

Mamori gasped, turning quickly around, coming face-to-face with Hiruma's leering face. She squeaked at the closeness before falling backwards.

Mamori closed here eyes and grimaced as she waited for the hard stone floor to send her into unconsciousness again but she hit a barrier of some sort. A solid barrier but not as hard as the floor.

Opening her eyes she watched Hiruma stare down at her in amusement. "So are we going to get the fuck out of her or what, Rasezi?"

Mamori nodded and rose turning to find out what she had hit. Mamori was greeted by nothing.

"It was a cushion of air … stupid," Hiruma growled, grabbing Mamori's hand. "Now to blast open the door for good."

"Wait, blast open the …" Mamori began in panic, trying to pull away from the demon.

But Hiruma's grip was strong. He raised a hand to the ceiling; a hand that started to crackle with Mamori knew had to be magic … _real_ magic that she was supposedly able to use.

With a shout of some unknown language, the ceiling blew away and revealed the blue sky overhead. Hiruma turned to Mamori, grinned and gave a fake bow.

"Shall we precede, Rasezi?" he offered with a sharp-toothed smile.

"Um … yeah, sure. But first… what does 'Rasezi' mean? You've called me that three times," Mamori mumbled, uncomfortably.

Hiruma studied her for a while before answering. "It means 'master'. Now are we going! I'm getting agitated and bored with all your stupid idiotic questions."

Mamori nodded and looked up at the sheer cliffs. "Well, we do have quite a climb to get–"

"Who said we were going to climb! Were flying," Hiruma sneered, impatience clear on his face.

"Fly?" Mamori squeaked.

Instead of answering Hiruma pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around and shot into air quickly. Mamori let out a short scream and held on to him as tight as she could praying he wouldn't drop her. Mamori peered down and saw the sky and gazed flabbergasted by it. Wasn't the ground supposed to be _down_ unless …

"Hiruma, why are we flying upside down?" she yelled over the shrieking wind.

"Why? Because I'm looking for something on the ground and its kind of hard to see over your head. Any other extremely dumbass questions?" he asked, craning his neck toward the ground, eyes slanted in concentration.

Mamori sighed in irritation and stared at the sky. IT wasn't exactly the most comfortable positions for two reasons. Maybe three.

One: she was staring at the sky with the earth probably a skull-crunch away.

Two: a mad man-demon had her crushed up against him even though it was her own fault for having a fear of high places and so therefore having to hang onto the demon tightly.

Three: she was worried Hiruma was going to drop her at any moment to see how mad he could get her.

Mamori felt her stomach drop as Hiruma flipped right-side up before plummeting down to the earth like a meteorite. She swore she saw flames starting to form from the friction.

The feel of solid earth beneath her feet … she never thought she would be more thankful to be standing again. She felt like kissing the ground, running and leaping in joy, and thanking whoever was watching her about a million times. Yes, Mamori Anezaki was thankful as heck to be on the ground … before realizing that she was suddenly surrounded by a score of armed men.

"Well, well, well … what do we have here?"

-0-0-

CLIFFHANGER! I tend to do that a lot now … even though I really don't like cliffhangers.

Hiruma is harder than I thought to write … but I believe I did an okay job at least.

I kind of rushed the end in an attempt to get it posted on my deadline since my entire spring break last week was spent in exile away from any electronic devices under the age of forty … Cries

The next chapter will be out in about a week … Crosses fingers

Anyways … read and review if you so wish.


	6. The Bandit Lord Meets the Demon Lord

The Bandit Lord meets the Demon Lord

Hello everyone! I'm back again with chapter six! (does dance)

Anyway, I would like to thank all the people who have reviewed this story.

Also, thanks goes out to Icy Cake for editing this story and making it much better than it was before.

Disclaimer: I don't own because if I did it would have a cow bus. Cow buses rock!

So far: Mamori has met and released Hiruma from the cave but now he is her responsibility as his master. Now Mamori is searching for her friends in the range.

Who is Who: (This list is getting pretty long now …)

Mamori: Herself.

Monta: A satyr. A half-goat, half-man creature. Or is he?

Sena: A dwarf who was friends with Shin only as a rivalry.

Eyeshield 21: A superhero who supposedly had an incident at the Drunken Dwarf. (He is also Sena.)

Kurita: A half-troll from Joka Machi and kinsmen of Otawara. A pacifist with the last name of Bonecrusher.

Ha Ha trio: A three-headed dragon with a fear of pictures.

Shin: The lead White Knight of Ojolot and is now dead. Or is he …?

Sakuraba: The only survivor of an attack. He feels responsible for Shin's death. The only bow master and ranger of the White Knights. He has a large following of fangirls that could probably fill a stadium and then some.

Takami: The equivalent of Merlin. Very wise and can read minds. First to realize Mamori was from another dimension.

Otawara: A half-troll from Joka Machi and kinsmen of Kurita. A White Knight that loves a good quest and is a little absentminded. Last name is Skullsmasher.

Hiruma: A Demon Lord who disappeared five hundred years ago. People think he has escaped his prison and is now wrecking havoc again. He is now the demon servant of Mamori even if he really doesn't listen to her.

Habashira: A Bandit Lord located in the Zokugaku mountains. He leads a large gang around and will soon have a really close encounter …

The Help Fairy: A little fairy that helps Mamori. It looks much like the Cupid's mascot.

-0-0-

"Well, well, well … what do we have here? A girl all by herself in the middle of my territory, that's unusual," someone sneered from the crowd.

Mamori blinked in confusion. "I'm not by myself. Hiruma is right … here …"

Mamori could only stare in horror at the realization that said Demon Lord was completely missing, leaving her with a group of nasty bandits that just happened to look like the students of Zokugaku high school.

"_Hiruma_? You have a Demon Lord playing as your knight in shinning armor? Ha!" the voice from before barked at her. The crowd parted on her right to reveal the familiar figure of Habashira.

Just like the rest of his band, he was dressed in plain gray clothing with an ornamental sword by his side. His knee high boots were scuffed and worn probably from years of services. He stared at her from beneath a stilted hat that looked similar to Robin Hood's.

"Err … no, that is a nickname for my pet … dog," Mamori stuttered, trying to lie and not show just how terrified she was at the moment.

She was alone, defenseless, and her mind was a puddle of goo as the imposing figure of Habashira loomed even closer.

"You named your dog after a Demon Lord? Why? Is it a demonic dog that chases anything that smells like food?" Habashira laughed cruelly.

"Um …" Mamori's mind was now officially blank for the first time in her life. Hiruma had abandoned her. How could she have expected any less from that demonic idiot? He had no honor code or anything.

"Boys, I think it is time to take our lady friend to our hideout before she gets eaten by something nasty. Don't you think?" Habashira threw a dastardly grin to his companions who chuckled in agreement.

Mamori felt anger bubble up from deep within. No one took her anywhere or even told her what to do without her permission. Not even Hiruma.

She glared at the tall bandit as he reached out to take her arm and drag her off to who knows where. Before he could touch her, Mamori slapped Habashira across the face with all the anger and strength she could muster. She silently applauded herself as his entire face, a mixture of pain, confusion, and anger, jerked in the same direction of the slap.

"A fiery one, eh?" He wiped away a trail of saliva that drizzled from his mouth. "Then let's see how fiery you are when you're met with the cold steel of my blade, girl."

Habashira unsheathed his sword with practiced ease and leveled the ornamental blade at her chest, grinning triumphantly.

Mamori backed away and wished something would happen … a miracle even. "Mamori! Remember the seal on your arm! The seal calls the demon to you!" someone hurriedly whispered in her ear.

Panicking now, Mamori pulled up her sleeve to reveal a symbol that looked exactly like the sealant used to bind Hiruma to her. She placed a finger on it and felt an immediate jolt run up her spine.

'_What do you want now, fucking mage?' _a voice hissed in her head.

'_Hiruma! Where are you?'_ she gasped in surprised (or in her head in surprise).

'_Around,'_ he answered simply. _'Is there a reason you're calling me?'_

'_Yes … you dropped me dropped me off in the middle of a bandit's hideout' _she hissed angrily.

'_Fine … I'm fucking coming to save your ass …' _Hiruma grumbled before the mind link went dead.

Mamori opened her eyes to find a smirking Habashira, only mere inches away with his sword rushing forward to end her time in both realms.

Habashira suddenly jerked back with a strangled cry. His sword swung wildly in front of him. Mamori dove to the earth to keep her head attached to her body from the madly swinging bandit.

"My Lord! What is wrong?" one of the shorter men called out in exclamation.

"I don't know! Something is holding me back, damn it!" the self proclaimed Bandit Lord roared.

"Of course, you damn ass-bandit. Can't you see that I can't let you hurt her even if I wanted you to?" a malevolent voice echoed around the group in a low rumble that sent shivers up anyone's spine.

The bandits cowered, looking around frantically for the source of the voice. Habashira stopped fighting against the invisible force and seemed to freeze in place. Sweat dripped down his face, his body quaked, and his eyes darted around in a fear he didn't quite understood himself.

"Where are you! Show your face, you coward!"

Mamori felt her skin crawl as she watched a huge shadow start to loom over the panicking bandit like a cat over a mouse. The bandits started to back away rapidly from their Lord with large eyes staring in horror as the shadow formed into the familiar form of Hiruma. The demon gave them all a nasty look.

Habashira started to quake uncontrollably even though he was glaring at his men in pure frustration of their cowardice.

"Come on! It was probably a cheap trick by that girl. Pull yourself together! Is this the group of bandits that captured Shin!" he screamed at them, still not noticing the Demon Lord standing behind him, wearing an unpleasant smirk.

"Um … Rui … look behind you …" one of the braver bandits quavered, a single shaking finger pointing at Hiruma.

Scowling, the bandit turned around and came face-to-face with the demonic smirk that only Hiruma could pull off.

Rui froze in his spot, staring at Hiruma with a look that couldn't even be categorized as terror; it was more like death had suddenly stricken him. Which, considering the situation, was probably not far from the truth.

"Damn wonderful evening, don't you think?" Hiruma grinned sadistically at the quavering bandit.

Rui just continued to stare in horror at Hiruma, his mouth gaping open, trying to form a coherent thought to answer the demon.

"Well? I'm fucking talking to you and you just stand there like a damn fish! Hurry up before I kill you!" Hiruma snapped, leaning in.

"Yes, sir! Lovely day!" Rui squeaked out finally.

Hiruma smiled and backed off then began to circle Rui. Mamori stood up and watched the Demon Lord in mute frustration. Why was he toying with Rui?

She took a step forward to tell him to stop his mental torture, but Hiruma lifted a hand in her direction. Her voice seemed to suddenly stop. Mamori clasped a hand to her throat and screamed silently at Hiruma whose attention was back on his intended victim.

"So, now what to do? I have been a little hungry lately …" he mused, placing a hand on his chin and grinning maniacally at Rui.

Rui legs decided then to work and he took off as fast as he could away from the Demon Lord. Yet, no one was prepared when Rui ran into a very hard barrier of air.

His legs gave way under the pain and he slumped against the barrier. Hiruma held up an open palm where it began to glow a red-orange light. The light took on a life of its own as it stretched forward and started to form into a familiar shape.

Hiruma grasped part of it and it solidified into the shape of a gun even though it was entirely different. The mouth was carved out into a grinning devil bat with its wings thrown backwards along the side.

"You're Hiruma! The scourge of the White Kingdom, destroyer of the entire Taiyo Kingdom six hundred years ago!" Rui gasped in open fear and awe.

Hiruma smirked. "Yes, and now you're not going to live to tell anyone! See you in hell."

Rui tried to back away but again the barrier stopped his retreat. He closed his eyes tightly and awaited the end.

"Demonic scum! Take on someone your own size!" a voice bellowed from above.

Mamori glanced up spotting the intruder instantly. White armored shoulders, a nasty spear at his side, a solemn look carved out of stone …

"Shin!" she whispered hoarsely. It seemed the spell Hiruma had used to silence her before was wearing off even if her voice was only a whisper at the moment.

Hiruma turned and fixed Shin with a scowl. "Well, if it isn't the White Knight, Sir Shin, coming to protect the damn bandits from the evil demon. Hmph. Get a fucking life!"

"I cannot let an evil creature like you live, Hiruma!" Shin growled lowering his spear, "Even at the cost of my own life!"

"Then let us see how easily your damn spear can shatter, Sir Shin," Hiruma sneered, hefting his gun into the air and pulling the trigger.

Mamori expected normal bullets like per usual in her realm but what came out was even worse. A giant fireball blasted into the air practically scorching the sky a deep orange color before exploding. The air shimmered with heat and Mamori's hair clung to her neck.

Tremors shook the mountains around them upon the impact. Mamori could only guess what would happened if those two were to fight … Total destruction of everything within a twenty-mile radius which included the ground she was currently standing on.

"No wait! Please stop!" she tried to yell but it only came out as a raspy whisper, lost under the charging of metal boots on rock and the maniacal battle cry of the demon.

"YA-HA!"

-0-0-

(Hanging off a cliff typing chapter seven). You guessed it … cliffhanger! Really sorry but it seemed to me at least a logical place to end. Right at the start of a battle scene!

Anyways I hope you enjoy and review!


	7. The Day the Mountains Blazed Red

The Day the Mountains Blazed Red

Hello everyone! I'm back with chapter seven. I hope it isn't too short … I kind of thought it was but oh well!

To everyone who has reviewed: Thank you! You all motivate me to type this story even when I am half-asleep and don't even feel like typing!

Who is Who: (No one new really…)

Mamori: Herself.

Monta: A satyr. A half-goat, half-man creature. Or is he?

Sena: A dwarf who was friends with Shin only as a rivalry.

Eyeshield 21: A superhero who supposedly had an incident at the Drunken Dwarf. (He is also Sena.)

Kurita: A half-troll from Joka Machi and kinsmen of Otawara. A pacifist with the last name of Bonecrusher.

Ha Ha trio: A three-headed dragon with a fear of pictures.

Shin: The lead White Knight of Ojolot who, in last chapter, made his appearance and is busy fighting Hiruma.

Sakuraba: The only survivor of an attack. He feels responsible for Shin's death. The only bow master and ranger of the White Knights. He has a large following of fangirls that could probably fill a stadium and then some.

Takami: The equivalent of Merlin. Very wise and can read minds. First to realize Mamori was from another dimension.

Otawara: A half-troll from Joka Machi and kinsmen of Kurita. A White Knight that loves a good quest and is a little absentminded. Last name is Skullsmasher.

Hiruma: A Demon Lord who disappeared five hundred years ago. People think he has escaped his prison and is now wrecking havoc again. He is now the demon servant of Mamori even if he really doesn't listen to her.

Habashira: A Bandit Lord located in the Zokugaku mountains. He has a large band but they fled when they saw Hiruma. He was left for dead.

The Help Fairy: A little fairy that helps Mamori. It looks much like the Cupid's mascot.

-0-0-

Mamori could only watch in fear as the two titans charged each other; weapons unsheathed in the upcoming battle which she knew could only have one winner.

"No! You must stop! Stop this …" Mamori whispered again. Her eyes betrayed the terror that had fallen upon the area as the two collided.

A tremor shook the Earth as the two locked weapons. Neither would give an inch and pushed each other back only to lose the ground they had just gained.

Hiruma fell back and aimed the gun-like weapon at Shin and pulled the trigger. Another searing hot fireball lurched forward with a deafening roar.

Shin stood stoned-face in the path of the fireball. From his back he pulled forth a long silver shield with a large white cross decorated on the front. Over the cross 'Glory for the Kingdom' could be read.

The fiery bullet plowed into the shield like a giant ball of putty as pieces flew in all directions.

Mamori screamed and hit the ground as fiery tendrils splattered everywhere. She felt heat that seemed to burn the very air she breathed rush over her back.

She glanced up and was shocked at the amount of damage done. Rocks once whole lay in melted piles of molten rock, trees burnt to ash, and even the sky now burned an angry red.

To the right Rui sat there wide-eyed in horror. His entire body had frozen and his eyes were glued on the battle.

"_If this keeps up we're both going to die!" _Mamori thought as she squinted through the blaze of heat.

Her decision was made in an instant. Mamori took off towards the paralyzed Bandit Lord; leaping over puddles of molten rock and debris that had been created in the battle.

"You're damn good. I'll give you that," Hiruma commented with a grin. "You were able to stand up to Hell's Bullets but what about Hell Flamer?" Red energy began to glow around Hiruma's gun and it began to charge.

"Powerful magic you have there, demon. But why haven't you gone to your true form? Is someone holding your leash?" taunted Shin, hoisting his spear up rushing forward.

Hiruma growled and swung the gun to block Shin's incoming attack. A shower of red and white sparks danced around the area. Mamori skidded to a halt; just missing a jet of flame. Mamori sent a fearful gaze to the two and then continues towards Rui.

He was only a few feet away … He was a few _treacherous_ feet away for being so near the two battling men.

Another spurt of flame shot by, almost lighting Mamori's shirt on fire but she continued forward praying that her selfless act wouldn't cost her life.

She collapsed next to Rui and gave him a shake. "Come on! Do you want to get fried?" she yelled in desperation.

A glance over her shoulder already told her that the fight was getting closer. She could see the sweat trickling down Shin's face from the heat and could practically count all the teeth in Hiruma's sneer.

Adrenaline rushed through Mamori's system as another fireball whizzed by overhead. She took a breath and grabbed Rui around the middle and began to drag him away from the battle.

Mamori gasped for breath as she attempted to drag a guy that was probably double her weight and was as responsive as a noodle in her arms.

A sudden boom and flash of heat grazed her left arm, causing her to gasp in pain. She looked at her arm in horror as a red burn mark appeared on her skin.

"Maybe Rui had the better idea throughout all of this!" she hissed, "At least then I wouldn't be dragging a Bandit Lord turned vegetable out of a war zone …"

A tremor raced through the Earth causing the ground to buckle. Huge crevices began to form as the tremor ripped through the very core of the mountain.

"What's going on?" she yelled out as she almost lost her balance.

The fight ended suddenly as Shin's eyes widened and Hiruma looked down at the ground with a perplexed stare.

"It seems this fucking range has a few dormant volcanoes," he laughed suddenly as if having the Earth crack open beneath him was the funniest thing he had ever seen.

Mamori gritted her teeth in agitation. "Hiruma! How did this happen?"

Shin turned and regarded her with a shocked gaze. "You control this monster?"

Mamori nodded. "I was trying to get you two not to fight …"

"There she be! Mamori are ye okay?" someone yelled from across the rumbling battlefield.

Glancing up, she spotted Kurita, Monta, Sakuraba, and Sena standing on a cliff that was rising higher and higher…

"We're standing in the crater of a volcano!" she screamed, panic-stricken eyes glancing around.

"Does that really bother you that damn much?" Hiruma asked, crossing his arms and giving her an odd look.

"What do you think! Everyone here is about to be burned to a crisp!" Mamori yelled as panic began to override her better judgment.

"That's your damn problem. I'm fire proof," Hiruma grinned wickedly.

The Earth cracked below them and lava began to flow from deep within. Hot streams of steam began to rise and a deafening roar came from deep within the awakening volcano.

"We're all going to die except for Hiruma," Shin stated coldly, glaring at said demon.

Hiruma shrugged helplessly, "Well, someone has to do it."

"No one will die this day!" a deep heroic voice boomed.

Mamori looked up and gaped in surprise. There floated Eyeshield 21 wearing a football helmet decorated with two horns from the sides. He wore his jersey for some odd reason but also a cape decorated with a '21'.

"Eyeshield 21!" everyone seemed to say simultaneously.

"The one and only!" he said with a huge grin. He lifted a single hand into the air and a whoosh of cool air surrounded everyone. The air started to flash a bright gold; glowing brighter and brighter with each passing second.

Mamori closed her eyes as the light became too bright and felt the heat fade away.

Tentatively, she opened her eyes and was surrounded by desert sands. Far in the distance she saw a spout of red shoot from a black line on the horizon.

"We're alive … I'm alive …" she whispered, not quite understanding what had just happened.

"Wow …" Monta said eyes widened in shock. "Maxi-wow …"

Sakuraba sat staring at the volcano wide-eyed and speechless. His body trembled from the sight he was witnessing. "The hero who can control the speed of light saved us …"

Shin nodded and glanced at Mamori. "Yes, that is amazing but what is even more astounding is that this young girl controls the Demon Lord of Christmas Bowl."

Hiruma scowled. "_Previous_ Lord of Christmas Bowl. Seems some jackass has stolen my throne!"

"That be a surprise to me. No one be as wicked as ye," Sena piped in tying up his large bag that seemed ready to burst at anytime.

"No … there are some things worst than me in this world," Hiruma stated coldly.

Sakuraba shivered and Shin tensed up. "You don't mean …" he started in a harsh whisper.

Hiruma nodded solemnly; a serious look for once plastered on his face.

"_Nagas_. The Nagas have returned."

-0-0-

Wow another chapter done and now on to chapter eight. The real villains are introduced and the Sphinx Team comes into the scene.

Well anyway, hope you enjoyed it and keep sending such great reviews!


	8. The Land of Egypt Redone

The Land of Egypt Redone

Get ready… this is a _long _chapter.

Who is Who: (It keeps growing and growing…)

Mamori: Herself.

Monta: A satyr. A half-goat, half-man creature. Or is he?

Sena: A dwarf who was friends with Shin only as a rivalry.

Eyeshield 21: A superhero who supposedly had an incident at the Drunken Dwarf. (He is also Sena.) Also saved our heroes from a volcanic eruption last chapter.

Kurita: A half-troll from Joka Machi and kinsmen of Otawara. A pacifist with the last name of Bonecrusher.

Ha Ha trio: A three-headed dragon with a fear of pictures.

Shin: The lead White Knight of Ojolot who had confronted Hiruma in a fiery duel atop Zokugaku Mountains. Has a strong dislike of the Demon Lord.

Sakuraba: The only survivor of an attack. He felt responsible for Shin's death. The only bow master and ranger of the White Knights. He has a large following of fangirls that could probably fill a stadium and then some.

Takami: The equivalent of Merlin. Very wise and can read minds. First to realize Mamori was from another dimension.

Otawara: A half-troll from Joka Machi and kinsmen of Kurita. A White Knight that loves a good quest and is a little absentminded. Last name is Skullsmasher.

Hiruma: A Demon Lord who disappeared five hundred years ago. People think he has escaped his prison and is now wrecking havoc again. He is now the demon servant of Mamori even if he really doesn't listen to her.

Habashira: A Bandit Lord located in the Zokugaku Mountains. He has a large band but they fled when they ran into Hiruma. He is now traveling with Mamori because he wants to figure out what they're doing.

The Help Fairy: A little fairy that helps Mamori. It looks much like the Cupid's mascot.

Agon: Two words… evil bastard.

-0-0-

The desert was silent as Hiruma's statement was taken by the wind. Mamori glanced at the others in confusion.

Shin and Sakuraba sat with dreaded looks on their faces at the name of their football rivals. Sena started to tremble and quake in fear and Monta stared wide-eyed at Hiruma.

Kurita had an alarmed look written across his face and almost dropped Rui who was still unconscious.

"It can't be! The Nagas were wiped out three centuries ago!" Sakuraba spluttered.

Hiruma smirked. "Nagas aren't that damn easy to kill, knight. They toppled the golden age of Ojolot, destroyed cities as far west as Deimon, and supposedly took Deimon's arch mage hostage. Do you think I could've done all of that even if I wanted too?"

"You took out half of Taiyo's great wall," Monta pointed out.

"That," Hiruma began with crossed arms, "Was because it was between me and Christmas Bowl. I will do anything to get there, even put a hole in a three billion-dollar wall."

"Um, excuse me, but what are the 'Nagas'?" Mamori asked, lost once again about what they were talking about.

"Nagas are horrible dragons that a long time ago ravaged the land; destroying anything in their path," Kurita explained as he pulled out two meat buns from out of his pack. "They can take human form and slip unnoticed into many cities to manipulate the government. Three centuries ago, they were wiped out by a combined effort of all the kingdoms."

"The same can be said for demons except when they're in their true form, nothing can stop them," Sakuraba added helpfully, sending a glare at the present Demon Lord. "Nagas are stopped by the true light that only Eyeshield 21 can use."

"So Nagas and demons pretend to be humans to hide their true forms and these Nagas are worst than demons?" Mamori asked, trying to sort everything all out in her head.

"No. It's just Nagas are notorious for trying to take over the world and demons only care about their own territory. They don't attack unless provoked so fewer incidents have happened," Sakaruba said, pulling out an intimidating arrow and tested the point. (It was most likely that he was taking precaution of Hiruma's presence.)

Mamori looked a Hiruma who stared back with a guarded expression. "So that isn't what you really look like?"

"No. I look a lot different when I want to be. But now I can only go to my true form with your fucking permission," he growled in obvious agitation.

"That is the way it should always be too," Shin stated firmly, hardening his expression at the demon.

Hiruma scowled. "So how did you get loose? I heard from the fucking bandit over there that he caught you."

"We been finding him in their hideout. Twas an easy little task since all the bandits were fleeing as if their very lives depended on it," Sena clarified for the demon.

"Their lives probably did depend on it the way Hiruma was carrying on," muttered Mamori.

Hiruma threw her a smirk and shrugged. "I can't afford to be nice or else I'd have to work twice as hard to intimidate everyone."

"Anyway, we found Sir Shin and freed him. That's when one of the bandits told us about a demon and a young woman attacking them to the north," Monta interrupted. "Shin took off and we had to give maxi-effort to keep up."

"Then the volcano erupted and Eyeshield 21 appeared," finished Kurita.

Silenced filled the air as the group attended to whatever activities they were doing. Mamori sighed and glanced at the stars. They were exactly the same as they were back at home.

-0-0-

Mamori awoke when she heard someone moving around the perimeter of the camp. She lifted her head slightly and looked out into the dunes. Nothing.

"Must have been my imagination," she sighed in relief.

"What are you mumbling about, damn girl?" Hiurma asked from on top his perch.

"I thought I saw something out in the dunes," she huffed in indignation.

Hiruma looked out at the dunes with narrowed eyes. "It was a giant sand beetle."

"How can you even see out there? It's pitch black."

"Magic," the demon simply replied.

Mamori bit her lip and directed her attention at the demon. "Um… how do you do magic?"

Hiruma rolled his eyes. "You are so damn stupid sometimes," he mocked, making the girl internally scowl at him. "But since you _are_ from another world, I guess I could give you a crash course in magic."

Mamori breathed a sigh of relief. She nodded and sat watching the demon expectantly.

"The first thing about magic is to know what your own element is," Hiruma began in a bored voice.

"'Your element'?" Mamori repeated in bewilderment.

"Of course your damn element! My element is fire, Kurita's is earth, and Sakuraba's is light!" he snapped in irritation. "If you don't know that then you can't wield any magic!"

"Sorry! I don't always have to know what you're talking about!" she retorted.

Hiruma was about to say something but looked up over the dunes. "Damn… Taiyo's coming. Well, I have to split. See you in Taiyo!" he cackled.

In a burst of flames he was gone, leaving not even a hair behind. Mamori turned in the direction he had looked. She could see dust clouds rising on the horizon over the dunes telling her of the approach of many people.

She ran to Shin and gave him a shake. "Sir Shin! Someone's coming!" she said in a loud whisper.

Shin's eyes flew open and he reached for his lance. He sat up and examined the dust cloud. "Seems like they're sending in the chariots to inspect us. Wake the others," he ordered as he reached for his armor.

Mamori nodded and rushed to everyone's side telling them exactly what the lead White Knight had said to her.

Sena knelt next to Shin with a grim look on his face. "Be they friendly or not?"

"Not sure. Hiruma has already bolted which won't cause any confrontations with Taiyo's most hated enemy. We'll just have to see how it works out," Shin replied. His hand tightened on the hilt of his lance.

Sakuraba strung up his bow and sat up on the rock Hiruma had been standing on earlier. "Just tell me when, Shin. I got a clear aim from up here."

Shin nodded, signaling he had gotten the message but his eyes remain glued on the horizon where the sun had just begun to rise. The dust clouds were getting larger and closer as the chariots approached with frightening speed.

Rui's tongue rolled out and he glanced around at everyone. "Um… bad time to ask but do you know how I ended up with you guys here?"

"We rescued you from an erupting volcano when you were in shock," Mamori hastily explained as she looked through Kurita's bag for some sort of weapon to use.

"Oh… thanks, I guess."

A loud thundering began and the earth began to tremble. "They must have a lot of chariots coming to cause such a rumble!" she exclaimed to Monta.

The satyr shook his head. "No. Sakuraba said there are only three. The rumble is because the people of Taiyo are giants."

"Giants?" she gasped.

She quickly turned her head to the direction of the chariots and saw huge mountains looming down on them. Monta was not kidding when he called them giants. Each one stood as tall as the Tokyo Tower and were extremely muscular.

"Greetings small travelers from the White Kingdom," the middle giant began, his voice booming overhead. "I am Banba, leader of the Pyramid wall guards."

Shin stood and gave a stiff necked bow to the giant. "Greetings and well met, Banba. I'm Sir Seijuro Shin of the White Knights."

The tension seemed to clear out of the air instantly as everyone began making introductions around.

"Hi, I'm Monta and this is Sena and that is a maxi-cool chariot!" the satyr exclaimed to the giant to the left of Banba.

"I know! I, Ken Kamaguruma, know how to pick out the best chariot for bumping. I'm telling you, Taiyo is the place for battle vehicles!" the giant bragged.

"Battle vehicles? Like rams and ballistae?" Monta asked, befuddled.

"No! _Chariots_!" Ken yelled, taping his chariot's side and causing a large thunderous sound.

"Hahahaha! These little people do not pose as much as a threat as you thought, Banba! Shall we escort them to the Pharaoh?" the giant on the right grinned.

Banba examined them all closely before nodding. "Yes, Kasamatsu. We will escort them to the capital to meet his majesty."

Banba extended his massive palm downwards toward them, laying it flat against the sand. "Climb on," he commanded.

The group scurried onto his hand and found comfortable spots to sit. Mamori sat against his thumb and craned her neck upwards. "It gets really hot around here doesn't it?"

Sena took a seat next to her and sighed. "It be brutally hot out here. It be making me sweat a waterfall!"

Mamori giggled a bit and sat back to watch the scenery pass by in an instant of endless dunes broken sometimes by a large rock or oasis.

"Boring scenery, eh?" Rui commented, seeming to speak what everyone was thinking. "Yet easy to blend in with, I guess."

Mamori shut her eyes as the rolling of the chariot and the heat of the day descended upon her like a blanket of sleep.

"We be here lass! Wake up!" Sena whispered, gently shaking Mamori awake.

Her eyes snapped open and she glanced around, taking in the cool stone décor that reminded her of ancient Egypt. She stood as Sena and Monta leapt off the hand and onto stone floor, chatting back and forth.

Mamori yawned as she walked off the giant's palm. "Hey Sakuraba? Did we just enter Taiyo or is this a rest stop?"

"Nope! We're standing on the Great Wall of Taiyo or at least a part of it," he answered with a smile.

"Part of it?" she wondered out loud, following Sakuraba out onto the balcony.

The view was fantastic. A city that made Ojolot look like a small village stretched out before them; built entirely out of a giant pyramid, surrounded by the thickest walls she had ever seen. The wall was made from smooth, yellow stone and was as long as the entire city of Tokyo.

"Wow… that is a huge wall!" she gasped in awe.

"The largest wall in the world. It's nicknamed the 'Pyramid Wall' in most parts," the bow-master stated, leaning on the banister. "Yet, I'm getting this - I don't know - uneasiness somehow... As if something evil is lurking just beneath the surface."

Mamori glanced to the side at the knight as he looked down on the city with a troubled gaze. The wind picked up and Mamori could smell the spices blowing in the city. She sighed unhappily.

"This place kind of reminds me of home. I really miss it," she said gloomily to Sakuraba.

"Don't worry," he assured her with a supporting pat on her back. "After Taiyo, we will cross the Texas Planes and head on to the ocean and catch a ship with the Poseidon. Then Christmas Bowl will be a hop, skip, and a jump if all goes well."

"Excuse me for interrupting, but the giant Banba wants us to meet the Pharaoh right away," Kurita announced, apologetically.

Mamori smiled and followed him back into the building that resembled a pyramid with Sakuraba. Even if she was a bit homesick, she still had some great friends with her.

The city was a maze of passages and it was worst when you were only ten inches tall compared to everyone around you. Luckily the Taiyo people had built walkways on the side of the passages that ran about eye level with the giants making it seem not all that bad.

"So who is the Pharaoh of Taiyo's name?" She asked Banba politely.

"His name is Harao but please call him Pharaoh. It is the custom of our people," the giant rumbled back.

Mamori nodded and glanced to the side. She saw a man standing in another walkway, carefully watching her through black shades. His stare was making her skin crawl and his face was so familiar that it was practically screaming to be remembered.

"Is there something wrong, Mamori?" Kurita inquired. "You seem to have a worried look on your face."

"No, it's just that man over there looks …" she pointed to the spot the man had stood but saw nothing.

Kuirta gave her a confused look. "What man?"

Mamori shook her head. "Never mind. Nothing was there."

Yet, in her mind a name came to the surface that she had almost forgotten. _"Agon?"_

-0-0-

The chamber door loomed ahead, decorated in gold, opal, and diamond that were molded into various gods and hieroglyphs.

It proved just how wealthy the Taiyo Pharaoh was and the power he commanded as a constant stream of giants and other various people and species filled in to request favors or to have a problem fixed.

"How many people does he deal with a day?" Monta gaped as the line continued to grow longer and longer.

"Um… I think about a thousand a day," Ken guessed, shrugging. "What do you think, Kasamatsu?"

"Na! He sees four thousand a day!" the giant boasted.

"Maybe a million!" Ken retorted, excitedly.

"No! A trillion!"

"Jeez… I'm sorry I asked," Monta muttered to Sena who tried to, but failed, to hold in a chuckle.

Mamori smiled as Banba waded through the crowd of giants hollering: "Make way! We have some special guests for the Pharaoh!"

"Special guests? Are any of us really that special!" Rui asked in confusion.

Shin rolled his eyes. "Wherever Sakuraba goes the fanfares and parades follow."

"Is it just me or did you actually crack a joke?" Sakuraba smirked as every female in the area except Mamori gaped at him.

"No. I was just telling the truth," he muttered under his breath.

"You know it would be really weird if the Pharaoh is actually a fan or something. I mean it would mean Sakuraba had enough power in the world to rule on kingdoms based on his good looks," Rui snickered.

Sakuraba shrugged. "It's the price for being beautiful," he said giving a fake sigh of defeat.

Everyone shared a laugh at this and entered the richly decorated hall of the Pharaoh Harao. He sat on high on a chair made of solid gold, decorated with diamonds and other precious gems, with large velvet pillows thrown on it to give the pharaoh maximum comfort.

He looked just like he had back in her world excluding the fancy crown he was currently wearing and had just as large a harem. The women sat around the throne chatting and throwing flirtish looks at their Pharaoh and some even stood by holding food and drink in case Harao ever felt hungry or thirsty.

"Quite a set up he's got there…" Rui said, giving a low whistle.

Harao held up a hand and fixed the group with a hard stare. The room silenced immediately to a low whisper as everyone eyed the newcomers with interest.

"What brings you to Taiyo, White Knights of Ojolot?" the pharaoh boomed in a commanding tone.

"We are accompanying Mamori Anezaki arch mage of Deimon on a quest across the Sea of Kyoshin to the lands beyond the Devil Dog Range," Shin answered formally.

Harao studied the White Knight hard before taking a look at the others present. "I see you have amassed a decent sized party to tackle this task. Tomorrow my men will escort you to the Texan Fields. I must warn you though, reports of flying saucers abducting travelers has become quite common."

"_Flying… Saucers?"_ Mamori perked an eyebrow at that.

"Thank you Pharaoh. We appreciate any help we can get for this mission," Shin praised with a bow.

Yet even with the Pharaoh giving his word he would aid the group, Mamori couldn't shake the unsettling feeling growing in the pit of her stomach.

Harao snapped his fingers and an attendant sprang forward, throwing a small bow to the Pharaoh. "Slave! Show our guests to their rooms please," he commanded.

The slave bowed and started down a nearby hall. "Please, good sirs, follow me."

Mamori cast one last look at Harao and knew he was hiding something. She could practically sense a lie in his promise. She shivered when she heard a cruel laugh spring up from the air and knew… that only she could hear it.

-0-0-

"Yes! Now this is what I'm talking about!" Monta yelled as he started jumping on the bed. "Come on, Sena! This bed is so huge it's like a giant trampoline!"

Sena smiled sheepishly before joining Monta on the bed, the two of them leaping about like jackrabbits.

"Wow! This be really fun!" Sena laughed as he completed a somersault. Sakuraba climbed on the giant-sized bed and also began to jump.

"You haven't seen anything yet!" he challenged, performing two somersaults in midair.

Mamori smiled at the threes' antiques but the same feeling of wrong seemed to follow her everywhere. "Excuse me… I'm going to take a walk," she said as she exited the room.

Shin nodded. "Don't stay out to long."

Mamori smiled but it never reached her eyes. "Yeah. I'll be back soon. Just need some fresh air."

The moon hung in the air like an anonymous watcher to some event about to happen. Mamori felt the odd feeling increase as she got farther and farther away from the others.

"It's just my imagination getting ahead of me. There isn't anything wrong. Nothing is wrong," Mamori whispered to herself. Yet it sounded as if someone was following her and it wasn't a friend.

Mamori pulled out the small dagger she Sena had given to her when they reached the room. "Just in case ye be needin it, which I hope you don't."

"Who's there? Show yourself!" she cried out to the empty corridor, hearing her voice echo faintly. She felt like she was in one of those horror movies where the monster was just waiting to jump out and kill her.

She almost screamed when a powerful hand clamped over her mouth and another one grabbed her around the waist. "Well, if it isn't little Mamori Anezaki from another dimension. A pleasure to finally meet you. It seems I've underestimated you quite a bit," a calm voice whispered in her ear, causing a chill to go down her spine.

The hand was removed from her mouth and her waist. The dagger was also wrenched out of her hand by her assailant. She literally leapt away spinning around to see the familiar face she had spied in the hall. "Agon…"

He smiled unpleasantly and removed his glasses. "It seems you know me. Good, I always hate introductions."

"What are you doing here and what do you mean 'underestimated me'?" Mamori demanded trying to save face.

"You avoided the Ha-ha Dragon and Devil Imps which are under my control. You made it out of Ojolot before I obliterated it, and allied yourself with some very powerful allies. You are quite resourceful, but you were always like that," The Naga explained, still in that eerily calm voice.

"But we just met! How could you know unless…" Mamori faltered and stood staring wide-eyed at Agon. "There is another me here too!"

"Yes and that you is trapped in your world at moment. You don't have to worry though. She is why you're in a coma. As you can guess this world is too easy to destroy so I was thinking: How about another world? A fresh world. _Your_ world."

Mamori stood there stunned at what Agon had just told her. "So that means you caused that accident!"

Agon nodded and tilted his head to the side with a snide grin. "Does it surprise you that much? I did do it but it was the other me and that was by accident. Now the only thing is for you to reach Christmas Bowl and open the portal back home. That is when I, and the other Nagas, will destroy and rule your world."

Mamori stood trembling in fright and rage. All this time she thought it was pure incident that led her to this world and that it would have a happy ending. But no… Agon had just shattered that dream into a million pieces.

"You look distressed, my dear. Is it this city? Don't worry it will be gone by morning. It has always been a thorn in my side and it will save you from your execution tomorrow," Agon said taking a step forward.

Mamori backed away in increased surprise. "Huh?"

"Since Ojolot and Deimon are destroyed, Taiyo is going to try and establish itself as the super power of this side of the ocean so they are going to execute you all. Fantastic work except tonight I wipe them out and take you back to Christmas Bowl," Agon mocked, grabbing her hand.

"Let go! I'm not going with you if it means the destruction of my world!" she screamed, lashing out at him.

He laughed at her plight and tightened his grip. "Struggling is useless! You're coming with me whether you like it or not!"

"I don't she wants to go with a faggot like you," someone growled in a threatening tone.

Agon whirled around and glared hatefully at Hiruma. "So you're free again. I didn't think anyone could ever find that prison."

"Damn straight I got out! Now I'm going to rip you limb from limb for usurping _my _throne!" Hiruma snarled looking more and more like an enraged beast by the second.

Agon sneered and released hold of Mamori before turning to face the demon. "Really now? You seem to have lost some of your edge or is it that someone is finally holding your leash?" he taunted.

Hiruma growled angrily at the repeated comment he had heard earlier. "At least if I was destroying a city I would make sure the _King _was in it, dumb-ass!"

"What is that suppose to mean?" Agon drawled, twitching an eyebrow.

"King Shoji of Ojolot wasn't at Ojolot the day you took it out. Neither were half the White Knights. Soon everyone will know the Nagas have returned," Hiruma sneered.

Agon glared and held up a fist that began to radiate a dark blue energy. "Fine… I'll just have to finish the jump after wiping you from the face of the earth!"

The blue light flew towards Hiruma. The demon gave another growl before dodging the blue lances of energy. "That's all you've got? It seems you're the one who lost his edge."

Agon glanced at Mamori and smiled. "Oh, really? It seems your Master doesn't get the bond very well." He held his hand out and launched another volley of energy; this time aimed at Mamori.

She sat there unable to move and watched death approach in slow motion. "Damn it, Agon!" Hiruma hissed as he grabbed Mamori around the middle and pulled her out of harm's way.

The Naga grinned and replaced his glasses. "Too bad we can't continue this. I have a city to destroy and you have to get your Master and her friends to the Texan Planes. Until next time, Yoichi!"

With that Agon leapt out the window disappearing into the night. Hiruma dropped Mamori and rushed to the window and started yelling every swear word Mamori had ever heard and some in another language at the fleeing Naga.

"You damn coward! Next time I'll fucking rip your head off and use it as a fucking football and then burn your ass off! Then I'll make sure you never have any gay ass children!" he screamed in full blown rage.

Mamori sat backed and just stared in alarm as Hiruma continued his tirade. "Um, Hiruma … I think he gets the point."

The demon turned and glared angrily at her. "It's all your fault! Why didn't you run for it as soon as he was distracted!"

"I-" she began but was immediately cut off by Hiruma.

"Don't you understand that if anything happens you I get the brunt of it! Damn, you're a stupid idiot!" he yelled in outrage.

Mamori didn't know what to say for she had never seen Hiruma this angry before. She sat on the ground and looked away trying to hide the fact that she was getting all teary eyed over this. "I'm sorry..."

Hiruma gave an irritated sigh and gave one last glance out the window. "Come on, then! We have to get out of here before that bastard brings the place down on us."

"Oh, right. But why keep going towards Christmas Bowl if it only spells the end for my world?" she wondered out loud as she followed Hiruma back to the room.

"Have some damn faith will you?" he snarled banging down the door instead of opening like any normal person will do.

Mamori glanced up and stood amazed at what Hiruma had just said. _Faith_. Yes that was what everyone believed in during the football games, for better or worst.

She passed Hiruma and gave him a smile. "Thanks."

He grunted and leaned against the door frame fixing everyone with a glare. "Get ready to go. A Naga is about to wipe out Taiyo just like it did to Ojolot and believe me; barely anyone will be left to tell the tale."

-0-0-

Another cliffhanger except you know kind of what is about to happen. (Looks out window and seas Agon knocking over cardboard city.)

Yeah… that is pretty much it… so anyways please read and review!


	9. The Nagas Revenge

The Naga's Revenge

Whoo… it took forever to write this chapter! I've been so very busy lately and I've been typing three stories at once. (Multi-tasker! Oh yeah!)

Now to make a special announcement… fifty reviews! (sets off fireworks in backyard) YES! My life long dream is complete! Not really though…

Anyways here is chapter nine!

Who is Who: (It keeps growing and growing…)

Mamori: Herself.

Monta: A satyr. A half-goat, half-man creature. Or is he?

Sena: A dwarf who is friends with Shin only as a rivalry.

Eyeshield 21: A superhero who supposedly had an incident at the Drunken Dwarf. (He is also Sena.) Also saved our heroes from a volcanic eruption.

Kurita: A half-troll from Joka Machi and kinsmen of Otawara. A pacifist with the last name of Bonecrusher.

Ha Ha trio: A three-headed dragon with a fear of pictures.

Shin: The lead White Knight of Ojolot who had confronted Hiruma in a fiery duel atop Zokugaku Mountains. Has a strong dislike of the Demon Lord.

Sakuraba: The only bow master and ranger of the White Knights. He has a large following of fangirls that could probably fill a stadium and then some.

Takami: The equivalent of Merlin. Very wise and can read minds. First to realize Mamori was from another dimension.

Otawara: A half-troll from Joka Machi and kinsmen of Kurita. A White Knight that loves a good quest and is a little absentminded. Last name is Skullsmasher.

Hiruma: A Demon Lord who disappeared five hundred years ago. People had thought that he had escaped his prison and is now wrecking havoc again. He is now the demon servant of Mamori even if he really doesn't listen to her.

Habashira: A Bandit Lord located in the Zokugaku mountains. He has a large band but they fled when they ran into Hiruma. He is now traveling with Mamori because he wants to figure out what they're doing.

The Help Fairy: A little fairy that helps Mamori. It looks much like the Cupid's mascot.

Agon: An evil Naga who is now the new Lord of Christmas Bowl much to Hiruma's annoyance. He wants to use Mamori to open a portal to her realm and destroy it.

Banba: One of the Taiyo Sphinxe's charioteers.

Ken Kamaguruma: Another charioteer of Taiyo.

Kasamatsu: The final charioteer introduced last chapter.

Harao: The Pharaoh of Taiyo. Had planned to execute Mamori and the gang to gain more recognition for his kingdom since it is currently the last one standing.

-0-0-

Shin and Sakuraba gaped at Hiruma in alarm. "Ojolot is gone?" Sakuraba whispered.

Hiruma nodded. "Nagas decimated it yesterday at about two o'clock or so says the rumors. King Shoji wasn't in the city though."

Shin stared stone-faced at his hands. "Those monsters… Do they have any regard to all the innocent people they destroyed? I swear I'll destroy them at whatever the cost!"

Sakuraba nodded and his fingers clenched around his bow.

"I be agreeing with that," Sena announced, stepping forward. "But where be these Nagas nesting now?"

"Christmas Bowl," Mamori said in a soft tone. "That's what Agon told me when he tried to take me captive."

Monta gaped at Mamori in awe. "You _met_ a Naga and weren't ripped to pieces!"

"They need her to open a portal to another world, damn monkey," Hiruma snapped. "Now she's gone and become all fucking emotional on us thinking she shouldn't continue this half-assed adventure."

"Of course you should! Some things like this just turn out in the end if you make some really powerful allies," Kurita said in alarm.

"Yeah. When King Shoji learns that they're at Christmas Bowl, the entire White Army will march on over there," Sakuraba put in.

"And when they do, so will Deimon and many, many other countries. No one particularly likes the Nagas," Monta finished smugly. "They have nowhere to run."

Mamori smiled. The walls then began to shake and a deafening roar filled the air. 

"What the hell!" Rui yelled as he toppled over.

Blue light blazed from the window, bathing everything in an azure glow. It was followed by the sound of collapsing buildings and screams.

"We're going to die! How are we going to get out in time!" Rui cried in panic, as he stared wide-eyed out the window.

"Grow a spine and follow me. Taiyo has over three thousand passages that the damn Pharaoh even forgot about," Hiruma leered, striding out the door as if the palace was the most causal thing in the world to him.

No one jumped up to follow the demon but instead they all hesitated. Shin reached for his lance. "I don't trust him," he said with a cautious stance. "Why would he save us now when he was going to leave us to die at the volcano? And where were you all day?"

Another thundering sound was heard making the entire structure sway.

"What is it to you? Taiyo hates my guts and that bastard Agon was around. Do you think I would ignore a chance to kick his ass?" Hiruma growled. "And right now it doesn't seem like this building is going to hold up any longer."

The rooms quavered as if in response to Hiruma's observation.

Sena shrugged in defeat. "Doesn't be looking like we have much on a choice do we?"

With those words, the group sprang into action. Weapons and armor were buckled on, prayers were said to whatever God was listening, and a few oaths of revenge uttered. Then they took off after the quickly retreating Demon Lord.

The sky was bright with a bluish-white glow with erupting sounds of destruction. Mamori could practically feel the energy pulsating in the air as more and more bolts of energy tore through the sky. Yet the producer of these bolts was yet to be seen.

"Hey, where is the Naga? I mean I see the attacks but not the monster!" Monta hollered.

"Just wait a damn moment and you'll see the true form of Agon on the left!" Hiruma roared back, taking another sharp turn.

"Where on the left?" Sena asked shooting a side glance to the side.

"Right about… now!" Hiruma yelled.

And what appeared before them was the Naga known as Agon. A huge metallic blue colored dragon roared as it wrapped its claws around the Taiyo Wall and smashed it to pieces as if it were made of paper. Blue jets of energy streamed forth from its open maw and electric blue eyes blazed in glee at the carnage.

The eyes turned, towards the direction of Mamori and the others. Its huge mouth lined with curved white teeth opened. Energy collected at the back of the throat and grew by the seconds.

The Naga seemed to laugh as it launched its deadly wave of energy at them.

"_Duck_!" screamed Sena, throwing himself to the ground. Mamori did the same and shut her eyes tightly. The roar was vociferous and seemed to shatter everything. Her teeth chattered in her head as she felt the energy crash into the structure above her whilst singeing the clothes on her back and hair.

Even with her eyes closed tight, she could see the blinding white flash of light. Soon the light dimmed and she peaked out one eye.

The damage was complete if not total. What had once been a magnificent hall was reduced to rubble. Glass laid on the ground shimmering in the unnatural blue glow.

She stood up on wobbly legs and was relieved to see the others also standing up even if they were a bit singed.

"Thank God Taiyo built high walls or we all would be vaporized in an instant," Sakuraba sighed in relief as they renewed their efforts to escape. "But next time the Naga will probably aim a little lower."

Sena glared at the enormous serpent. "That be the most foul creature I've ever seen!"

Hiruma glowered at the Naga. "Damn you, Agon! You take my throne and my reputation. Just you wait until I kick your gay ass!"

If the situation wasn't so life threatening Mamori might have chuckled at the remark. As if replying to the demon's outburst, the dragon roared and fired another wave of energy in their direction, striking the wall below them and causing the building to violently shake as it began to collapse.

The sound intensified dramatically and the floor began to tilt. More screaming could be heard from the people below. "What now?" Shin shouted as he braced himself on his lance as the floor began to tilt swiftly.

"Nothing. This way we ride it down to the ground and make our escape," Hiruma drawled, crossing his arms.

Shin growled in irritation but nevertheless shoved his lance deep into the stone and held on for dear life. Kurita grabbed Sena, Monta, and Mamori before slamming one massive fist into the stone.

Rui had wedged his two blades into the cracks on the floor. Sakuraba grabbed on to Shin's lance, closing his eyes. "Damn! Why did I have to be afraid of heights!" he moaned.

Hiruma just stood in one place seemingly stuck to the floor even as it began to shift to a ninety-degree angle with the ground.

Mamori looked down and felt fear take a hold of her soul. A vertical fifty-foot drop to the ground and a rising cloud of dust that was blasting the entire structure was not comforting for the girl.

Shin glared at the dust cloud. "Hiruma! How are we suppose to survive that cloud! It will rip us to pieces you maniac!" he hollered.

Hiruma ignored that comment his gaze focused ahead on Agon. She could practically feel the hate radiating from him.

"Ye damn, lying demon! What type of plan is this?" Sena yelled as the building began to collapse faster into the ground.

Hiruma growled and started to walk down the vertical floor towards the rushing dust cloud. "Damn idiots. Can't survive a damn minute without magical intervention…" he mumbled in irritation.

He lifted one hand and held it up to the rising dust. The cloud stopped and seemed to back away from Hiruma before leaping over the party as they approached the ground at a slower speed.

The demon shot them a glare before walking off the block and onto the sand. Sakuraba unhanded Shin's lance and dropped to the ground and scowled. "Well, it looks like the demon does have an honor code."

"Whatever…" Hiruma replied in an aloof manner, "But you better start heading to the plains before the Naga decides to come check up on us."

Kurita let go of his hold and landed next to Sakuraba and released his three companions. Shin wrenched his lance free and disembarked from the wall. Rui followed suit and slid his twin swords into their scabbards.

"Which direction should we go?" Mamori shouted over the deafening sound of another section of the wall coming down.

Sena glanced at the sky before pointing to the left. "It be this way according to the stars! The Texan Plains lay to the west of Taiyo!"

"Yeah but there is probably miles of desert between here and there!" exclaimed Rui.

Shin turned to Sena with a small grin. "It's nothing to someone with golden legs, right Sena?"

"Be ye challenging me to a race?" Sena asked, a smile gracing his lips.

Shin nodded. "A death race across the Taiyo desert has never been done before. Let's see who could win."

"But what of the others? I do be thinking that they wouldn't want to tramp through the desert," Sena pointed out.

Shin nodded and turned to the group. "Anyone have any ideas on what we should do? The race can never happen since it is much safer to stay together."

Yet Mamori could see the disappointment in both of them. (They were rivals and this was just one way for them to even up the score between them, a fact that was oblivious to the girl.)

"Of course, you can. We can all do it. You can do your death race and we can do a death march. I've done one before and I can do it again!" Mamori declared as she stepped forward.

Everyone looked at her with mixed expressions. Shin and Sena seemed pleased, Monta a bit confused but willing, Kurita with a smile, Rui with a look of pure panic on his face, Sakuraba looked unsure about the whole idea, and Hiruma just smirked in his usual fashion.

"Well if she can do it, so can I!" said Monta cockily. "I'll just use maxi-effort to pull through!"

"I guess I can give it a whirl though I have never done anything like this," Sakuraba tentatively put in.

"No way! I'm going to stay right here! Going across the desert is complete suicide if you ask me," Rui exclaimed angrily crossing his arms in defiance.

"Great idea! Let's stay and do a damn report on the insides of a Naga! We can measure how effective its digestive juices can eat through your skin and melt the flesh off your bones! Brilliant idea, oh smart one," Hiruma jeered.

Rui's face went pale and he edged away from the demon with a look of total fear. "On second thought… I think crossing the desert to the Texan Plains is a good idea."

Mamori sighed. Hiruma and his power to intimidate were unmatched by anyone she had yet to meet. Except maybe Agon. He just gave her the creeps.

A screeching roar filled the air making everyone jump. Mamori glanced back and noticed the electric blue light was drawing closer.

"Hiruma? Can you provide a distraction for a while?" Mamori asked turning to said demon.

Hiruma grinned and walked toward Taiyo. "It would be my pleasure," he laughed before disappearing into the darkness.

"Let's go! I doubt he can distract it for very long!" Mamori yelled already taking off.

Shin and Sena sprinted off quickly overtaking the group and were soon gone from sight in a blaze of speed.

Mamori shook her head in awe at the speed the two boys they seemed to possess. She wished at the moment that she could run like them.

A shriek of alarm sounded from the Naga and a rumble shook the earth for a moment.

Another rumble followed that continued to grow louder as an empty chariot was being pulled by two giant, panicking horses.

"What luck!" Rui cried happily. "This way we don't have to walk!"

"Good idea except that the chariot was made for giants and we're about one hundred feet too small," Sakuraba put in as the chariot came closer.

"Well, it is heading in the same direction practically," Monta yelled over the cry of the panicking horses. "And we would have a better chance of putting more distance between us and the Naga."

"Well, it's decision time now! It's about to pass us!" Kurita hollered.

Mamori glanced at the incoming chariot. "Well… it seems a better choice! Let's go!"

She scampered over a large dune overlooking the path of the chariot and glanced down at the leap. It had to be timed perfectly or else… "Here we go!" Kurita cried from behind, hoisting her and Monta on his shoulder and then jumping onto the chariot.

He landed with a resounding thud on the bottom of the chariot, dropping the two. Mamori sat up wide eyed. "Wait! What about Sakuraba and Rui?"

"Already here, my lady!" Sakuraba called from on top of the reins of the chariot. "I decided to at least keep track of where we are from up here. As soon as I see green plains, I'll tell you."

Something flew into the chariot soon afterwards and smacked against the side of the chariot. "Ouch! Ugh… Pardon me…"Rui mumbled incoherently.

Mamori sighed and pulled the Bandit Lord up before glancing back at the rapidly disappearing city. "Do you think he can keep it distracted for long?"

"Who knows and who cares?" Monta snorted leaning against the side closing his eyes.

"I agree. The guy gives me the chills," Rui muttered sitting next to the satyr

Mamori sighed and took a seat also. She couldn't blame them for their mistrust but it seemed odd but only a little bit that in this world they weren't a team. Only barely at times did they put differences aside to assist in the big picture.

She sighed again but soon remembered something.

"Hey, Kurita," she began, "I have question… How do you know what your element is?" she inquired.

"Sometimes it is based on where you were born and other times by personality. It's so hard to tell unless you practice magic," the half-troll yawned in reply, having falling half-asleep already.

Mamori stared up at the sky and pondered his answer, unable to sleep. All the excitement and her earlier nap had chased away all the weariness in her. She stood up and paced around a bit, glancing in the general direction of where the city once stood. "Even if no one else cares… I hope you don't get yourself killed." Mamori whispered.

The desert wind answered with a gentle howl before disappearing into the sand with a slight hiss.

-0-0-

(Falls over and dies)

Yet the spirit lives on to type this story for all eternity! MUHAHAHAHA! Anyway, please read and review!


	10. Desert Cruise

_Desert Cruise_

(rises out of the ground) I'm alive! I'm sorry I took so long with updating… I was busy; finals are going on, huge projects due, and Rave Master fan art to complete... I was swamped but here it is! Chapter ten has finally arrived!

Who is who list: I've decided to only put the people who appeared in the last chapter and any new people or if new information is revealed. So no one is in it today! (throws confetti)

Disclaimer: Don't own… don't sue. Please and thank you. (bows)

-0-0-

"Wow… it really does get hot out here," Monta sighed, dabbing slightly at the sweat beginning to drip off his brow.

Rui murmured a reply as he laid face down in the shade of the oversized chariot. The two stallions had slowed to a walk, shaking the earth with each gigantic footfall. Behind them the ground was littered with huge craters that quickly filled with sand.

"Any sign of anything?" Kurita called up to Sakuraba.

The knight shook his head and sighed, disheartened by the sight of endless golden dunes. "No. Just dunes, more dunes, and a rock here and there," he replied.

Mamori groaned and laid her head against her knees as one of the giant horses whickered, causing Rui to jolt awake angrily. "Stupid things! Sounds like a hurricane when they breathe, they smell like a garbage dump outside of a major city, and every time they neigh it sounds as if someone has hired a troop of gong ringers to march around!" he cursed.

"Wait! I think I see something!" Sakuraba suddenly yelled, running up one of the horse's back to stand on its head. "Yes! There are some desert trees in that direction! The Texan Plains are getting closer!"

Rui grinned happily. "Good. On the other side is my home town and then I can ditch you all. This has been enough adventure for me."

Mamori wished she could be like Rui and just return to a normal life that wasn't filled with demons, Nagas, and other such fantasy characters right out of a story book.

"So you think we're going to see the NASA?" Monta asked glancing up at the sky. "I've heard that they're from another planet and they kidnap people who cross the Texan Plains."

"That's just a myth, Monta. Aliens don't really exist," Kuirta laughed.

"But the Pharaoh said flying saucers were abducting people," Mamori pointed out.

"Yeah! The Pharaoh said so and he practically lives next to the Texan Plains!" Monta exclaimed.

Mamori glanced out the back of the chariot and watched as another football field sized hoof print filled up with sand. "I've been meaning to ask you but… why is Sena able to run so fast? It kind of looks like Eyeshield's style."

The two blinked and shared a glance. "Well, he and Eyeshield are friends so Sena practices sometimes with him to expand his capabilities since he is Sena's role model!" Monta explained hurriedly. Kurita nodded vigorously in agreement.

Suddenly one of the horses whinnied and reared back in surprise. This sudden movement caused the chariot to suddenly tilt downwards and Kurita, Monta, Rui, and Mamori started to slide backwards off of it.

"What the hell! Sakuraba, what is it!" Rui hollered, trying to find a grip on the chariot's smooth surface.

The archer hung onto a lock of the horse's mane and looked out. "I don't know! Something silver just zipped by! I didn't get a good look at it."

The horses began to bolt even faster across the desert in sudden fear as the silver thing flashed by again, this time behind the chariot. The chariot crashed back to earth with a thundering rumble.

The two horses charged forward neighing in fear of the speeding silver bullet that was quickly gaining on them. It suddenly swerved to the right causing the horses to bolt left and away from the general direction of the Texan Plains.

"No! That stupid thing is sending us off track!" Rui yelled shaking a fist at the silver dart.

"Then I guess we're bailing or else we will miss the plains by about three hundred miles and end up in the Takekura Ravine. Not a nice place," Sakuraba cried as he almost lost his grip on the horse's mane.

"But what's so bad about this ravine? I mean I heard it's faster to go through it to get to the Texan Plains!" Monta asked as the horses slowed to a canter.

"Well, some say a friend of the Demon Lord, Hiruma, lived there but who knows? Maybe the legendary martial artist isn't real. _Musashi the Savage_ is - in my opinion - a fairy tale monster made up to scare bad little kids," Rui explained, yet a hint of nervousness flickered across his face. "The gnomes though… are real."

Monta flinched. "You're not talking about the gnomes that eat your gardens, are you?"

"No. The _Grunt Grunt gnomes_," Rui shot back with a look of agitation.

"Then we have nothing to fear. Kurita is good friends with the Grunt Grunt gnomes," Monta said with a sigh of relief.

"Then to the Takekura Ravine it is," Mamori declared, heading to the edge of the chariot. The others followed with Sakuraba being a bit late as he slid down the horse's enormous back and then climbing down its tail.

The group of five stood on the edge of the speeding chariot and glanced at each other.

"It's now or never…"Sakuraba muttered as he closed his eyes and stepped off. Mamori followed his lead and stepped off into the air. Her heart leapt into her throat as the ground rushed up to great her. She hit the sand hard and rolled to the side, leaving a large print on the side of the dune.

Mamori sat up and watched as Sakuraba sloshed his way towards her as quickly as he could over the sand. "Are you all right?"

She nodded as she caught her breath. "Yeah… fine… Are the others close by?"

"Yes. They landed a few yards between each other but unharmed. Let us go quickly to them so we may reach the ravine sooner," Sakuraba said, extending a hand.

Mamori accepted his outstretched grip and after getting her feet back underneath her, she followed the tall knight to her companions.

"Darn this sand… It's getting stuck in my fur!" Monta cursed, shaking himself like a dog and spraying sand everywhere.

Kurita looked like a sand monster as he rose, sand pouring off him in rivulets. "What way do we go from here?"

Monta glanced at the sun. "The sun is setting to the west and the ravine is due south of Taiyo."

"Then we should probably head in that direction," Rui stated, pointing to the right of them. Mamori turned and gazed out at the moving sea of sand as the wind blew gently across the golden landscape like a whisper.

"Do you think we will survive long in the desert without food or water?" Mamori asked abruptly.

The others glanced at each other and then looked at Mamori. "Well… we thought you would use your magic for that," Monta admitted.

She froze as four faces stared at her and quickly the heat of the desert wasn't her main concern. If she didn't have any magic here, then they would know she wasn't the Mamori they all thought she was.

"I-" she began until a rumbling sound interrupted her. Without warning, out of the ground burst a huge black pair of pincers clacking in the air, followed by a dun-colored beetle. The insect rose out of the sand and eyed the group with over three hundred of its tiny black eyes. It stood at the same height of Kurita and looked even larger with its legs spread out about it.

"GREEE!" the bug squealed as it swiftly reeled back in confusion.

"Enough Gertrude! They aren't a monster or nasty Devil Imp," a slightly quavering voice said, "Though it is odd to see someone so far away from civilization in this desert without a caravan."

The speaker appeared from behind the hissing beetle dressed in expensive-looking deep blue robes trimmed with gold. A golden phoenix was embroidered into his left pocket and his gleaming head rose out of the robe.

"Yukimitsu!" Mamori gasped recognizing the extravagantly dressed figure as the shy brainiac from the Devil Bats.

"You know me? But how? I haven't published a book out yet and only translated tomes of magic!" he gushed out in shock.

"Er… you translated a tomb for me. I'm Mamori of Deimon," she lied in an attempt to calm the flustered boy.

"What a relief!" he sighed, wiping a few drops of sweat from his brow, "For a minute, I thought you were bandits." He fixed his pose and gently smiled at them. "Yes, I am Yukimitsu the Bard, pursuer of legend, traveler of the world, and all-around genius as I have been called."

"Nice to meet you," Mamori returned, giving a slight bow.

Rui snorted and mumbled to Monta, "You might not be bandits by I am still a Bandit Lord."

"So how can I assist you people? Can I lead you to the nearest city? Taiyo is quite close to-" he began until Sakuraba interjected.

"Taiyo is gone. A Naga completely leveled it and we're heading toward the Takekura Ravine to reach the Texan Plains," he clarified to the bard.

"Oh my…" Yukimitsu whispered once again whipping his brow. "I thought the Naga went extinct a century ago."

"We all did," Kurita put in somberly.

A heavy silence descended on the group only to be interrupted by the desert winds hissing over the dunes and the beetle snorting and whistling behind Yukimitsu.

"So you need a lift to the Takekura Ravine? If I can accompany you I'll give you a ride to the ravine and beyond," the bard proposed, dropping a bow.

"Accompany us? Why would you want to accompany a rag tag group like us?" Monta questioned, generally confused.

"Well… I'm a bard but I haven't been able to write or compose anything since I have always been, uh… too scared to ask for permission to join a group…" He let out a small nervous laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. "But you guys look like you're on a noble quest and I just had a feeling that your quest could give me some inspiration," he finished with a slight quaver. He looked up at them with hope shining in his eyes.

"Sure, why not. We can use any help we can get," Mamori said, glancing at the others to check their reactions.

"Excellent! Gertrude? Lead our new friends back to the wagon," the bard said, patting the beetle on its leg. It clicked in response and back peddled down a dune chirping the entire way.

Mamori and company followed the huge beetle, stepping in its shadow to keep the brutal sun from beating down on them. Mamori could already feel the throb of an oncoming sunburn on her skin.

Ahead, a small wagon sat perched crookedly on a dune, looking as if it could only hold one person. Its gauzy red paint glittered in the sun and two small pony-like creatures stood basking in the heat. The beetle burrowed underneath it, disappearing entirely into the sand.

"So Gertrude is a sand beetle right? Did you tame her?" Monta asked turning towards the bard.

Yukimitsu nodded. "I can use my song to charm some of the smaller, simply minded creatures. It was pure luck I was able to charm that thing… it almost ate my wagon whole!"

"A bit on the small side, isn't it?" Rui muttered, eyeing the wagon.

"It only appears that way. It is an enchanted wagon… but it's hard to find any creature strong enough to pull it so I had to settle for troll ponies," Yukimitsu sighed once again, mopping his sweaty brow. "Climb aboard and we'll get going."

"Sure, climb aboard," Rui sneered mockingly, walking up to the wagon and grabbing the handle. "I'll just squeeze myself into the corner and hope I'm not suffocated to de-" He stopped and his jaw practically hit the floor as he gaped at the fantastic sight before him: a room decorated lavishly in satin carpets, marble floors, and (surprising) a working fountain with a staircase going around it to an upper balcony.

Yukimitsu wrung his hands worriedly. "I hope it isn't too much… this was the cheapest they had. It only fits fifteen," he stuttered.

"Uh… I think this will be plenty," Sakuraba laughed. "To think they were able to fit all of this into one wagon. I haven't ridden in one since before that attack in which I thought Shin died."

"Speaking of Shin, aren't he and Sena running around the desert right now?" Monta inquired.

"Sena and Shin… oh, no. I found them a few miles away fighting a sand serpent. Nasty things those are so I asked if they needed a lift," Yukimitsu supplied. "They're probably in the-"

"Hello everyone! It has been a long time, eh?" someone yelled from the top of the stairs.

The group looked up and spied the small figure of Sena clambering down the stairs followed by Shin who took the stairs slower than the dwarf.

"Racing all the way to the plains, were you?" Sakuraba teased slightly.

Shin snorted. "I broke the navigator I had with me so we were going in the opposite direction of the plains. Then some silver bullet started driving us in this direction."

"The same thing happened with us too! You know what I think it was? _Aliens_," Monta said seriously.

"If that's true, then the sky is red and the grass is blue. Come on Monta, there are no such things as aliens," Sakuraba explained, shaking his head.

"Excuse me but if you need me, I'll be up front driving towards the Takekura Ravine," Yukimitsu said, bowing slightly before scurrying off.

"Takekura Ravine?" Shin asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yes. Kurita is friends with the Grunt Grunt Gnomes that live in the area and since it's a quicker route to the Texan Plains from here, we decided to keep heading in this direction," Mamori explained.

"I'm so tired. Where are the beds?" Monta yawned stretching his arms over his head.

"Up the stairs and around the corner," Sena pointed to where he came. "The bathroom is at the top of the stairs."

"Thanks and goodnight," the satyr replied wearily, dragging his hoofed feet up the stairs.

"Maybe we could all use some sleep," suggested Mamori to the rest.

"Not me. I'm going to sit up front with Yukimitsu to keep track of our position," Sakuraba said, heading towards the front of the wagon. "Good night everyone."

Mamori nodded and started the treck up the stairs stifling a yawn. "I can't wait to sleep in a real bed again…" she sighed in relief.

She reached the top and headed to the left corridor and down the hall slightly before opening the first door on the left. It revealed a modest bedroom with a double bed, a sofa and a dresser in opposite corners on the other side. A small window was covered with a red curtain that matched the beige walls and carpet.

Mamori sunk into the luxuriously bed and sighed again. "Thank goodness for soft beds… but…" she turned to stare at the ceiling a bit of worry on her face. "I wonder where Hiruma is?"

-0-0-

The ruins of Taiyo rose out of the desert like a civilization built eons ago instead of a once thriving living city of people who ruled the dunes. Some of the buildings appeared as if they had been crushed by a great serpent's jaws or blasted in from a great force. Others seemed charred from great flames or ripped apart by razor sharp claws.

Within this now vacant city, a single figure sat glaring at another figure sitting nearby.

"So you're the asswipe who stole my throne," the blond growled through clenched teeth.

The darker-haired man scowled. "I was hoping you had died years ago instead of coming back. I'm surprised your new master would let you assume your true form, Hiruma."

"There are loopholes within the system… ones you know all to well, Agon," Hiruma sneered, a mocking look on his face.

"So you know. How interesting… you do know I'm not the only one who could do this," Agon smirked, gesturing to the destruction surrounded them. He stared at the Demon Lord with a calculated look. "If we worked together-"

"Never in a million years, damn Naga. I didn't care about it back then and I don't care about it now," Hiruma snorted. "I only want back what's mine."

Agon shrugged and let out a fake sigh. "Then until next time, Hiruma, but please consider what I've offered." With that, the Naga disappeared in a flash of blue light.

Hiruma scowled. "Damn Nagas. He doesn't fucking realize what he's really messing with, does he?"

He arose and glanced to the west at the wall of moving sand heading towards Taiyo like the hand of a mighty God coming to bury the city. "No need to hurry anyways…" the demon muttered. "I'll just take my time getting to the Takekura Ravine… after all no one lives there anymore."

The Demon Lord began to walk out of the ruins as a sand storm struck and incased the remnants of the destroyed city and the victims that laid there in a blanket of sand.

-0-0-

Yeah! It's done! (Falls over) I've been very, very, very busy lately and haven't had much time to write.

So what did Agon offer? What is the power he was talking about? What does it have to do with the story? R/R and find out in the chapters to come!


	11. Filler Chapter

Filler Chapter

Sorry for the late updates… I have been very busy with school, summer projects, and my entire month of August was devoted to a band camp. (falls over dead)

The next two chapters will be released at the same time as soon as I finish them. Until then… here is a short filler chapter that covers more of the pre-Mamori time period, pre-Sena dwarf time… heck only Hiruma was alive and a few others were alive back then!

This is to reveal a little of the past events, kind of like a flash-back of some sort of the time when Hiruma was the Demon King of Christmas Bowl. Also a few characters will be introduced who will appear later in the story.

Don't read if you don't want to. It probably won't change the story much since it's written in a more foreshadowing-type way.

Anyway enjoy!

PS: _Fill in the Blanks_ will have a second chapter.

-0-

A lone figure made its way up the side of the wind blasted mountain, cloak blowing in the wind wildly.

The wind paused for a brief second as it gathered its breath before exhaling in a huge gust against the mountain again.

The figure sighed and hunched in his cloak even more as it reached the top of rocky outcrop. "It is disgraceful that I have been reduced to this state by those damnable white knights!" the cloaked figure hissed in spite.

A rumble ran through the mountain and the figure tensed slightly as a loud bark echoed across the land.

"Seems Hiruma is letting his hell hound out. So much power yet he doesn't use it. A shame, a real shame," the figure muttered as he entered a dimly lit cave and onward to the palace.

Doburoku watched the new arrival with a frown. He could sense a malevolent aura surrounding this fellow even though he emitted no magical energies.

The royal adviser snorted and headed down the hallway with troubled thoughts spinning around his head. '_A stranger like this… a bad omen_,' he thought as he gazed out one of the windows to behold the huge stadium sitting under the burning red sun.

The figure smirked as he shook off his cloak and handed it to a servant. The royal adviser hadn't noticed a thing about him to alert him about his form. Agon crossed his arms as he looked up at the impressive castle that straddled the area between two mountains.

A huge three-headed dragon lounged above the entry way snoring slightly, its dangerously spiked tail swishing considerably over the path like a pendulum.

Yet the dragon itself seemed more like a mouse compared to the giant palace which spiraled up into the air, its twisting spires giving the entire place a hellish look which was emphasized even more by the red light that shined out from the windows.

The entire building radiated magical energies that seemed to sizzle in the air and brief bolts would suddenly split the sky with an ear-deafening crack, striking the spires of the castle.

"So much power these Demon Lords have… yet they waste it," Agon growled, glaring up at the castle. "Soon this will all be mine and I will rule this world."

With that the disguised Naga entered the palace of the two all powerful Demon Lords of Christmas Bowl, Hiruma and Kid.

0

Kid leaned against a pillar with a troubled face. "The air doesn't feel right. Doesn't feel right at all…" he murmured, peeking out from under the brim of his hat.

Tetsuma, the iron golem Kid himself had fashioned long ago, stared with the same blank expression at his companion. The sharpshooter sighed and placed a hand on his hat as he gazed out at the sky. "I get this feeling that a shadow has fallen upon this land. I fear the worst."

0

Agon stood on a balcony and stared into the stadium where the self-styled King of Christmas Bowl paced in front of the ranks of Devil Imps fidgeting around on the field. "A waste of power," Agon repeated as he eyed the blond, "Yet that power can be mine if I could get that book."

The Naga stared at the plain black book that dangled off Hiruma's belt. The front had a few runes that revealed that this book was not written of this world but of another world far away. The demon home world most likely.

"For such a ratty looking thing, the spells that it has inside could help me restore the Nagas to their former glory and destroy these demons for good," Agon smirked, his fingers itching to hold the book.

Agon knew that with one look, his vision would be able to decipher the spell and after that he would not only remove Hiruma but also Kid. He didn't want any challenge to his new kingdom.

"But now I have to seek out the powerful archmage of Deimon to help… with a sealing spell for this blond demon and I'll deal with the cowboy wanna-be after I have that book." Agon grinned, body tingling in anticipation.

The shadows over the land increased and Hiruma looked at the sky with a slight frown, "Something isn't right here. The damn sun is getting covered by clouds when it never rains here!"

The first drop of rain pelted the top of the spire and the two Demon Lords gazed at the sky with mixed feelings knowing somewhere deep down that something grave had descended onto this dimension.


	12. A Meeting of DemiGod and Gnome

A Meeting of Demigod and Gnome

Very very, very, very, late in coming - Its just I ran out of inspiration but now…grins evilly I got it back! I've still been reading Eyeshield 21 so the ideas for each upcoming character is taking form.

Now we just need to finish the NASA part and then go on to the Kyoshin Kingdom plus another filler chapter that explains exactly what happened to Hiruma and Kid so many years ago.

Enjoy!

0

Mamori was jolted from a pleasant sleep by someone rapping emphatically at her door.   
"Mamori? Where here! We have reached Takekura Ravine!" Monta yelled through the door.

Marmori yawned and stretched her arms above her head and groggily rolled out of bed. "I'm coming, I'm coming," She grumbled as she opened the door.

There stood the satyr with an eager look on his face. He grabbed one of Mamori's hands and began to drag her off quickly towards the stairs. "Come on! You have to see it! It's maxi-huge!"

Mamori followed with a small smile as the boy dragged her down the spiral staircase, past the fountain, and towards the door at the far end of the entrance hall.

Monta pushed open the wooden plain looking door among all the elaborate decorated ones to reveal Yukimitsu chatting good naturally with Sena.

"So then my mom asked if I wasn't taking my studying to be a mage seriously and then she got this scary look on her face so I lied just so I wouldn't have to deal with her wraith."

"She sounds like one those people ye be thinking are pleasant and really aren't." Sena replied gazing upwards. "Pretty high cliffs up there…"

Monta let go of Mamori's hand and moved to the side of the wagon and stared downwards. "This is maxi-awesome!" He exclaimed like a child at Christmas.

The brown haired girl joined the satyr and gazed down. It was truly a long way down from this narrow ledge they were on. The bottom of the takekura ravine could not be seen in the dark gloom, but the trickling of water suggested a raging river of some sort that had probably caused this ravine in the first place.

Mamori glanced up and stared in awe at the smooth sided walls of rock that were smoking in the morning light as the dew was evaporated off. It seemed as if this ravine was more then just a crack in the earth, but a long forgotten temple or city from the past.

"Wow…" Mamori whispered, completely awe-strucked.

Sena grinned and glanced up, "A wonderful natural wonder this be. It was here that Musashi the savage practiced, or so legend says."

"Also the home of the Grunt Grunt Gnomes." Muttered Monta looking around as if the gnomes were already leaping onto the wagon.

"What is so bad about these gnomes? Are they bad tempered?" Mamori asked curiously.

Monta and Sena shared a disbelieving glance before turning to stare wide eyed at Mamori as if she had grown another head. "Are you serious?"

"These gnomes not only can't speak in complete sentences but also throw wagons and people of cliffs!" Yukimitsu exclaimed.

"That's over doing it a bit…before you know it; the gnomes are going to be spitting fire and sucking your blood." Someone muttered from the doorway.

Turning the four, beheld Shin leaning against the frame with a bored look. Monta blinked at the white knight with a wide eyed look, "Really?!"

Shin rolled his eyes skyward, "No."

"Oh…" Monta said with a low voice and with a bit of embarrassment.

Mamori gazed ahead at the narrow path that traveled parallel to the sheer cliff on the left. She wasn't about to admit to the others that being this high up on a narrow ledge in a swaying wagon was a little bit terrifying. It seemed with just one little push they would all plummet to their dooms.

"Well, maybe we did fib a bit about what gnomes can do, but they are-"

The ravine shook as if a violent cough had taken it, sending boulders, rocks, and dust rolling down the slick walls of the canyon with a fury.

"Watch out!" Yukimitsu shouted diving to the ground as debris began to rain down on them.

Yet the bard didn't realize his crucial error until the panicked ponies had run off down the trail as he gaped in open shock, "Oh no…"

Another shudder went through the ravine and the wagon wavered on the edge of the trail overlooking a sheer drop to certain death for everyone in the wagon.

"Quick! If we all sit on this side of the wagon, we might be able to shift the weight!" Yukimitsu exclaimed flattening himself against Shin who was the heaviest person at the moment. The rest of the party sitting up front complied and the wagon slowly began to tilt back to the path.

Mamori held her breath waiting for the tell tale thud of the wagon returning to equal leveling. It had almost reached that point when Sakuraba poked his head out, pushing open the heavy wooden door, "Is something wrong?" He questioned before the wagon tilled the rest of the way off the cliff.

The world began a dancing swirl of gray with flashes off color to Mamori as she clung desperately to the first handhold she could find as the wagon plummeted. Her mind raced with frantic thoughts and regrets but the one thought that screamed out the loudest was, "I don't want to die here!"

Yet the wagon was not controlled by thought, or else it would have stopped in midair from the desperate pleas they were all thinking as the wagon hit another outcropping sending into another spin into the air.

Mamori shut her eyes to block out the swirling world which was causing her stomach to whirl around in a gymnastic routine. Another bang and the brown haired girl felt her grip loosen on whatever it was and she began to fall free.

Her eyes flew open and she let out a panicked scream. Mamori stared at the floor of the ravine inches away from her nose and glanced up. The wagon was hovering just above her and by there wide eyed looks, they hardly believed that they survived.

Mamori inched out from underneath the shadow of the wagon and peeked up the cliffs trying to figure out who or what had saved them. The sunlight filtered down from above casting beams of light briefly in some places along the ravines floor. The river, a few feet of way bumbled happily along.

The shadowy figure that stood a few yards above the levitating wagon, one hand rose above its head in a clenched fist that had an orange aura.

Mamori couldn't see any defining features about this figure even though he had saved them from an untimely death. The glow around its fist disappeared and it turned and nodded at Mamori as if they were long lost friends before a sudden wind picked up and seemed to blow the figure into oblivion.

She blinked, staring at the spot the man had been a few minutes in confusion. _Who was that man?_," She wondered briefly.

Shin leapt of the carriage and glanced up the cliffs almost as if he also knew something or someone had intervened.

"Arg…what just happened?" Sakuraba moaned holding his head in his hand, "I've felt like someone tossed me in a whirlpool."

"We fell of the cliff and somehow landed at the bottom uncrushed, not dead, and perfectly fine." Yukimitsu said with an air of relief.

"No…someone stopped it." Mamori quietly said. The others stopped and their attention zoomed in on the girl who still was staring upwards.

"I…I didn't see him but he had an orange aura." She supplied off handedly.

"Hmm…not a demon. All demons have red auras and neither was it a naga." Shin mused out loud.

"An odd color indeed." Sakuraba stated, "Usually no one has that color of aura unless-"

"there a demi-god." Finished Yukimitsu with a worried look.

The wind blew a shrieking gale threw the canyon like a haunting melody played by a skilled musician. The air seemed to drop a few degrees colder as the knowledge sunk in.

"A demigod…a person born of heaven and earth untouched by the burning hells." Sakuraba recited, "I never thought one would save us."

"Yeah but I thought that the demigods went extinct with nagas and demons long ago." Monta piped up curiously.

"Well Hiruma is still around and that naga back at Taiyo didn't look too dead so I guess demigods are still around too." Sena said with a shrug, "But there be no records of any demigods around her other then Musashi the Savage."

"You mentioned him before but you said it was only a legend." Mamori pointed out.

"Yeah…according to historians, the two demon lords, Musashi, and the God monster of the sea fought in the Battle of Titans against the nagas over six hundred years ago. But something happened and everything between those three powers fell apart after the demon lords somehow betrayed everyone else." Yukimitsu described with the air of a teacher, "That was when the great arch mages sealed Hiruma and the Kid. Although no one knows where either one is now."

The wagon door opened again and Rui leapt out with an agitated face. "What the hell just happened?!"

"We fell off a cliff but it seems an unexpected ally saved us." Shin answered simply.

"Oh…er…was it Hiruma?" Rui quavered already searching for the demon lord.

"No. Actually I haven't seen him since Taiyo." Sena divulged rubbing the back of his head.

"Probably is terrorizing some town for kicks." Rui muttered under his breath, eyes still scanning for the elusive demon.

Mamori sighed and looked off down the river, "Maybe we should follow this river since I doubt where going to scale these sheer cliffs back up to the trail."

"But what about the wagon? I don't think we can go very far without the horses pulling it." Yukimitsu asked eyeing the wagon incredulously.

"Friends!" A harsh voice suddenly yelled.

The group whirled around as a short blur rushed towards them that hit Kurita and latched itself to his leg.

"Er…" Sakuraba muttered pointing at the short slightly hairy person clinging to the half troll's leg, "What is that?"

"A gnome." Shin answered bluntly, "I saw one once when I was sent to help battle the Spider of Spire Peak."

Sena knelt down and stared at the gnome, "I never saw one up close…" He muttered in curiosity.

The gnome turned and looked up at them, his red nose gleaming slightly from the sun shinning down from the top of the ravine, "Daikichi Komusubi!" It yelled as it jabbed a finger into its chest.

"Huh?" Monta queried staring at the gnome in confusion, "What does Daikichi Komuwasbi mean?"

"It's his name." Shin stated.

"How can you tell? Do you speak gnomish or something now?" Rui snarled at the knight with a look of contempt.

Shin nodded ignoring the contempt in the bandit lord's voice, "Of course. Gnomish is the language of true men."

Sakuraba shrugged in confusion, "Well we will go with that. So what does it want?"

The gnome turned and pointed at the sky, "Naga! Kicker! Big Fight! City gone!" Komusubi barked.

Mamori's brow furrowed, "A naga and a kicker…." She though out loud.

"A weird choice of words indeed…It seems a legendary kicker and a Naga where battling and the city of the gnomes were totally wiped out like Taiyo." Shin said.

Mamori blinked as the realization of who they were talking about hit her like a ton of bricks, "Musashi!" She exclaimed.

The others looked at her funny as she stood in shock at this sudden revelation, "Musashi is here! That is the legendary kicker he was talking about. It couldn't be anyone else!"

"Slow down lass! We aren't certain about that." Sena said, "This legendary kicker could be…but now that you mention it, who else could take on a naga other then a demigod?"

Monta nodded in agreement, "Demigods are high on the list of powerful beings so of course one would try to protect the gnomes from a bloodthirsty naga."

The earth shook again and rocks piled in around them. Rui leapt aside barely as a huge boulder came crashing to a stop where he had just be standing. "Geeze! All this shaking is going to get us-"

A huge shriek filled the air as a white blur flew over there heads about fifty feet up. Mamori watched in aw as a Chinese dragon looking creature whooshed by over head, its blue eyes matching the wild blue mane of its hair glaring venomously at a small figure leaping towards it.

"NAGA!" Sakuraba yelled diving for cover. The rest of the party dove out of sight as the awesome creature streaked back towards them.

Then nagas jaw opened wide revealing curled white and a cracking blue flame issued from its maw. The figure leapt impossibly high into the sky and nimbly dodged the incoming barrage.

The naga hissed and it coiled itself around an outcropping on the wall, "You have guts demigod." It roared angrily, "Master Agon will have your skin for this!"

"I do not fear your king." The figure answered its voice rumbling with a distinctive male voice, "Nor do I fear any demon. Now fight you cowardly serpent!"

The naga hissed again and lowered its head in a threatening manner. A circular bright red scale in the middle of its forehead gleamed dangerously, "Know this well demigod trash! I am Ikkyū Hosakawa of the nagas of Christmas Bowl. This world will fall to the nagas so you better smarten up and aid us or end up like the demons and humans!"

With that the naga let out one last shriek and jetted off into the sky before seemingly blowing away in the wind piece by piece.

The figure sighed and dropped his hands to his side, "Nagas. Never a good sign."

"Um…excuse me?" Mamori squeaked as she peaked out from behind a rock, "Are you Musashi?"

The figure nodded before throwing back its hood revealing the familiar features of the devil bats kicker, "Greetings arch mage and well met. I am Musashi the savage at your service."

0

He was a tireless man, a strong man, an iron man. He had not moved from this spot for hundreds of years due to the magical chains, but now they where weakening and disappearing. This odd tingle of strong magic that was very familiar crept into his consciences with the last words his master had said to him; Get help! Find Hiruma and Mamori!

From out of the marshes arose a man of iron with set features and a purpose to his stride. He knew now where the arch mage of demon was and where the true king of Christmas Bowl was. He knew now what he had to do to save Kid.

He had to find them.

Tetsuma ran through the marshes, not even caring when a swamp swallowed him up or a bramble caught around his neck. He felt nothing on his iron skin and only heard the words of his master and the beating of his iron heart.

"_Find Hiruma and Mamori….Find Hiruma and Mamori…."_ The voice echoed in the wind faintly and Tetsuma nodded. He would find them. He would find them to free his dear friend and Master Kid.

0

"So the Savage one has dared to defy my will." Agon murmured, one hand clenching slightly into a fist.

Ikkyū nodded, "He holds dear his principles of honor and to protect the weak." The smaller naga piped as he shrunk into his human form.

"No matter," Agon said with a dismissing wave, "He wasn't that important anyways. Has my brother, Unsui, reported in from Kyoshin?"

"No my lord, he has not but the Haha Dragon has reported the complete destruction of the Deimon country. Nothing is left but barren wastelands now." Ikkyu reported with a small grin.

Agon smirked and pulled out a slightly worn book with an odd language printed on the front cover, "Excellent. Everything is going according to plan and soon, "He paused and his grin increased, "Not even the combined might of the realm will be able to stop me!"

Ikkyu grinned and bowed slightly, "Now if you would excuse me, I have to complete some unfinished business."

"Of course. Make sure to give the savage on my regards." Agon said with an unpleasant leer.

0

The suspense! The drama! The author (me) always ending chapters with cliffhangers!


	13. The Texan Plains

There! I updated! You can stop bugging me with e-mails complaining for me to continue it . The thing is I lost the files...and didn't feel like retyping them but I'm back and I'll do my best to keep the story moving forward now. sighs

Really I just want to get Kyoshin but this is too big a part to push off to the side...anyways enjoy!

Short but it moves it ahead...Hiruma will be back as well next chapter.

0

Musashi looked like he had always looked to Mamori in her own dimension. Tall, proud, with a calm demeanor no matter the situation. The differences were of course; this Musashi was a demi-god and was dressed in faded armor used for centuries even millenniums perhaps.

Who knew how long the demi-god had been living. The group stood in awe looking upon a living legend that had just sent a naga hissing back to its den, tail between its teeth.

The Savage touched down lightly, keeping that same composure idly looking over the group with a faint smile. The silence might have went on forever if Mamori hadn't cleared her throat and taken a step toward him, "Uh…thank you for saving us Musashi," she said pleasantly.

"You were in danger due to my fight with that foul worm. I t was the least I could do," He said. His gaze again looked over their group with a slightly raised eyebrow, "And you keep odd company Mamori…a little bit from everywhere in your group,"

"It kind of came together…"Mamori said turning to look at her friends, "But I wouldn't have our group any other way,"

"Although having Hiruma back where we can keep an eye on him would be better, " Shin growled slightly. Sakuraba nodded and Rui took a step closer to the two knights showing his obvious dislike of the demon.

Musashi nearly looked surprised, "So he back eh? Then it appears things are now in motion…" He paused, eyes closing for a minute before reopening, "Then you are the way to the Texan Planes no?"

Mamori nodded, "We need to get to-"

"Kyoshin," Musashi finished, "You must get the kingdom of sea and calm the storm there and then take a boat from there to the Seibu badlands,"

"What is going on in Kyoshin? I thought they would be safe from those nagas," Monta piped up crossing his arms.

The demi-god glanced sidelong at him, "You would think that except two of the god monsters are at war with each other, Mizumachi is missing and the lone god monster Kakei is barely keeping the sea from swallowing Kyoshin kingdom in this storm. They are vulnerable now…"

He turned looking at each one of them in turn but then resting his gaze solely on Mamori, "That is why you must find Mizumachi to aid Kakei and then those two can force the other two into a stand still. Kyoshin cannot fall,"

"Why?" Sena asked, "Has the Kyoshin a larger purpose?"

"Kyoshin is the only kingdom that can provide sea transportation…it will be needed later…" Musashi said. The demi-god looked up frowning, "The naga will return soon. You must be far from here by 

then…I'll take you to the end of the ravine and from there you can cross the Texan plains…I only wish I could do more…"

Shin shook his head, "You have already down more than enough noble Musashi. We will hurry to Kyoshin and help them as we are able,"

Mamori nodded in agreement, "I may have been sucked into all of this…but I intend to help you guys out,"

Mushashi smiled, "I take comfort in those words, arch mage. You will succeed as long as you keep making powerful allies on your way to Christmas Bowl. "

He leaned in and in a low whisper said, "And Hiruma is never to be doubted. A demon yes but when it comes to his country and friends he will go to extreme lengths to help them,"

She nodded, "I'll keep that in mind. You probably know him the best out of all of us,"

The savage one laughed, "I only know him as well as he lets me Mamori. He's a secretive guy like most demons are,"

The demi-god took a step into the middle of the group, "Now let us be off. I'll start a teleportation spell that will take you all to the end of the ravine,"

"Savage! Gnome friends!?" Komusubi asked worriedly up at the demi-god.

"They are fine…the city was spared and I will continue to defend them little one," Musashi said, "No naga will be eating gnomes today or anyway,"

Komusubi beamed up happily, "I go. To Kyoshin !"

Shin gave a ghost of a smile, "A loyal gnome in our team? That is something that may help us later in our struggles,"

The group moved closer to Musashi as not to be left behind in the teleportation. Musashi lifted one hand and began to chant out loud in an odd language and tendrils of orange energy fell about them like spider silk. Soon the world began to melt.

Ravine walls of grey and black stone floor melted to reveal wide open skies of blue and long grass as far as the eye could see. A pleasant breeze carrying the scent of wildflowers tossed the grass playfully and the Mamori's hair as well.

She smiled and turned to thank Musashi….but he was gone. It appeared as if he had not even had been there with them. Sakuraba shook his head in awe, "That is some powerful magic…"

"The demi-gods be one of the greatest powers," Sena said in agreement, "No one with brains be tackling one if they have a choice otherwise,"

Mamori looked around curiously, "So…which way to Kyoshin?" she asked looking at her group.

Komusubi stabbed on finger in one direction, "That way!" he declared. It didn't take Shin to translate those words for them. Kurita smiled at the gnome, "It has been a long time since I've traveled with a gnome. I've always gotten along with them,"

"I hope he doesn't attack Hiruma if he shows up, " Mamori said voicing her worry out loud.

"The runt will be fried in a minute by him, "Rui snorted, "You are the only one with any real control of the damned fire breather,"

"Be careful what you say Rui. He could be listening right now,"Sakuraba said in a half teasing tone. Rui tensed and glanced around looking for the demon.

"You think so?" he asked nervously.

"Don't worry. He won't attack us," Mamori reassured, "Let's just get to Kyoshin before the nagas destroy it as well," she said.

A chorus of yes, a few moans and groans, and one 'umph!' followed her statement and soon they were off wading through the tall grass Kurita in the lead, bulldozing a path for the other members to walk more easily. For someone like Komusubi, the grass would probably swallow the poor gnome up.

However behind Kurita's massive stride he powered forward like a tank happily taking awe in seeing the trolls strength. Shin was at the rear keeping a weather eye out for any danger. Mamori walked behind Sakuraba and in front of Monta and Sena.

The two where arguing about aliens and abductions that happened on the plains which Monta thought was a hoax and Sena had concerns the stories where real.

It was such a nice day out with the sun shining brightly down warming her face. For once it seemed they could relax for a bit and take the time to enjoy the scenery. The wide expanse of grasslands, the colorful wildflowers, the clear blue sky….and the large silver disk that tore towards them buzzing loudly.

"UFO!!" Monta shrieked in disbelief as the saucer came closer.

Everyone scrambled for weapons being that cover was out of the question in such a flat place but the saucer responded with a bright beam of green light that bathed the entire party. Mamori let out a gasp as her feet left the ground and she began to float up towards the saucer.

The others two experienced this sudden loss of gravity. Monta kicked about trying to get back to the ground. Even Shin was showing frustration as he glared up at the saucer arms crossed.

Mamori looked up at the doors slowly opened at the base of the saucer. The light was bright causing her to close her eyes tightly as not to be blinded. It was like a sudden voosh into a hurricane battering her about, in a world of brightness even through her eyelids. She gasps as her bottom met the hard metal floor painfully.

She cracked open one eye and then another staring wide eyed. The aliens stared wide eyed back muttering among themselves. One eventually stepped forward. A short one with glasses on his face and eyes wide in curiosity, "We are the NASA alien vessel…we come in peace…."

Mamori couldn't believe it….Abducted by the American football team…now real aliens in this crazy dimension.


	14. Pixie On Board

I wrote the next chapter T_T now you can all stop bugging me! *cries more*

I'm so lazy…*sighs* I'm very sorry for the..(Year long…) delay.

The 'aliens' stared at them and they stared right back. Mamori was vaguely reminded of the cheap alien movies she had seen with men running around in tin foil outfits pointing their fake looking guns at equally fake looking alien monsters.

The whole American team was dressed in a similar fashion of an outfit of aluminum foil looking clothes and white stripes and it might've been comical if it wasn't that the guns they held flashed and beeped real enough to show those weren't the cheesy film guns. She swallowed and held up her hands. In peace or not, she still felt really threatened by them.

"You think they understood Watt-tron? I mean…they are dressed really funny…"someone still unseen in the bright light said, in American.

"My translations are flawless 2nd in Command Homer, "Watt said stiffly, "They are probably just in awe of are amazing style and weaponry!"

"Um…."Mamori began offering a nervous little smile, "Hi?"

The aliens gasped and fell into a huddle talking loudly as if everyone was too dimwitted to understand them.

"She speaks are language! They have infiltrated us! I told you so!" Homer , she guessed by the voice, whispered angrily, "We should vaporize them!"

"Come on Homer…they look friendly. That little furry goat guy looks funny!" someone else commented cheerfully.

"That is a satyr Panther. One of the most vicious creatures on the planet!" Watt informed his crew mate, "And you see that knight? That's Shin the Scourge! The evilest man alive!"

"I thought ya said that Hiruma fellow was?" Homer asked suspiciously, "Are you sure your wires aren't crossed?"

"Hiruma is a demon not a person! Demons are made of all the horrible things in the world. Shin is just evil evil," Watt correct pushing his glasses up, "They are harmless. There strange 'magic' is no match for our technological might,"

"Still I don't like the looks of them…We'll put them in the brig with those other two other goofy locals," Homer stepped into their view eying them over critically, "I don't see a pixie…I don't want another one of those things loose in here,"

Panther frowned tilting his head, "The bug zappers haven't been working? I'll try using the fly paper again…."

"No." Homer said, "You remember the captain's orders. You are to just keep to mopping…not that you couldn't catch that pixie with you zero-gravity boots,"

"The captain won't even give them a look over…they are so amazing!" Panther said flashing a brilliant grin.

Mamori wondered what they meant by a pixie loose in the ship...and what was going to happen to them as well.

The aliens began to shove them down the hall, Shin glaring daggers at them and probably due to Wat's tale of his 'wickedness' they kept their distances. But those of a more friendly nature like Sena, Sakuraba and Monta where prodded forward by the strange men.

The halls where wide and windy and of the same metallic grey they wore giving the whole feel of a place a retro style. Mamori was still waiting for a cheep looking robot to pop out of no where shouting, "Danger danger!"

Eventually they arrived at what must be termed the 'brig'. It was as brightly lit as the rest of the ship with room guarded by streams of electricity forming tight bars. The alien guard paused and pressed a few keys opening the chamber and herded them in.

As soon as their guards left Shin scowled even more, "What an unpredictable situation we have gotten ourselves into...and of course the demon lord has yet to show his face,"

"He may be powerful but I doubt even a demon lord can track a UFO, " Sena said taking a seat on the floor, propping himself against the wall, "He be off somewhere out of harms way for sure,"

Mamori bit her lip to keep the retort that wanted to come out. Hiruma was demonic, ruthless and his methods where harsh but in the end he looked out for his teammates...at least the Hiruma she knew. The alternate one could be different..but if that was so he would've been a kind man and that was even scarier then the truth.

Time seem to creep by for the group. Rui was snoring slumped against a wall, Sakuraba, Monta and Shin where chatting to pass the time, Kurita and Komusubi where taking in gnomish she figured, and in the corner Yukimitsu was humming to himself probably composing the verse for this particular adventure.

Mamori let out another sigh and looked out through the bars of their prison daydreaming about a simple life of being a football team manager that didn't have to deal with aliens, demons, or nagas at all.

As her mind begin to drift, an odd glowing orb buzzed down the hallway, sparkling slightly. Curiously, Mamori leaned closer to the bars, not touching them to get a better look at the orb. She needed have looked long before the orb was in front of her face showing that in truth...it was no orb.

It was a small humanoid with fluttering wings probably the pixie the aliens had mentioned earlier. She was a dainty thing with her small hands on her hips, a puffed up indignified look on her face, and peculiar skate-like shoes that made Mamori's eyes widen in recognition.

Suzuna.

"You don't have to stare you know! I'm not some weird animal!" She said angrily her wings beating quickly, "I heard some chit chat in the brig and knew it couldn't be my brother so I investigated only to find a motley group of people,"

Sena looked up and his eyes widened, " A pixie!"

Sazuni huffed even more, "Like you've never seen a pixie before ...really....I don't mind attention but not when someone is gawking at me!"

Sena blushed and looked away, " I beg your pardon miss, " he said shyly, "but...I never have seen a pixie or a member of the lesser demons of Christmas Bowl,"

"lesser demon?" Mamori asked looking back at the pixie, "So Hiruma isn't the only kind running about I take it,"

"Lord Hiruma is free!? Oh this is excellent news! You must tell me more!" the pixie squealed her wings beating faster in excitement.

"Get us out of this prison and we can help you, " Shin said with a serious look, "Mamori there is the master of the demon lord,"

The pixie fell back going into a somersault of surprise in midair, "My lord is...then you must have great power!"

The pixie was back fluttering near Mamori, "That is awesome! A woman with power representing women everywhere!"

"Not much of a woman I would say," Rui grumbled glancing at the small pixie.

Sazuni growled and zipped over giving him a savage pinch causing the bandit to let out a yelp of pain, "Do mess with a demon of Christmas Bowl even if I'm just a minor species!"

Mamori arched an eyebrow, "Minor species?"

Yukimitsu cleared his throat, "Demons are divided into three categories depending on their lineage. High demons like Hiruma are full blooded hell spawns straight from the fires themselves, middle demons are half demon half mortal and usually displaced a few generations from their hell spawned ancestor, and the minor demons are bleed offs of power that mutated certain species creating new ones.."

"Making the wonderful race of pixies," Sazuni said proudly, "And of course gremlins and ogres and imps but pixies are the best,"

"They are all the same species!" Sakuraba said back, "A gremlin and a pixie can be related!"

"So!?" she shot back, "I know that! My brother is a gremlin and stuck in a cell down the way. That is the only reason I am here..." she sighed, "I evaded capture and have been sneaking around trying to set him free but I don't understand this dialect very well...just parts of it,"

Mamori glanced up, "So...if you had someone who knew the language then you could...get us and your brother out?"

Sazuni nodded, "Then I could plug in the code and set everyone loose but I can't figure out the spelling of "Apollo NASA" she said,"

"If I tell you will you set us free?" Mamori asked quickly seeing a chance to get out of the cell.

Sazuni nodded giving a thumbs up, "leave it to me! I'll get you out mistress of lord Hiruma!"

"Er....mistress?" Mamori said but then just sighed, "Well...get to that pad and I'll say the letters," Mamori said, "And then I'll make sure to introduce you to Hiruma when we meet up with him again,"

Sazuni grinned even wider and like a flash was up next to their cell tapping at a little panel, the same one the guard had used, "okay! What are the letters?"

"A-P-O-L-L-O," she began listening to the whirl of small fingers on the panel as Sazuni went to work, "N-A-S-A"

After a few more clicks the panel blinked and glowed green and the bars faded, "There! The bars are down in this block for a few minutes! Let's get going guys!"

Kurita got to his feet moving into the hallway with a curious look of his own,"It is rare for a demon to help other races..."

"It is rare because other races never ask for help!" Sazuni said with a pout, "We aren't all bad. Especially compared to those nagas!"

She puffed up angrily kicking her skated feet slightly, "Oh what I wouldn't do to kick Agon in the face for exiling us!"

Mamori smiled a bit, "So where is your brother?"

Sazuni whizzed down the hall to a cell near the door, "He is in here...asleep!" she puffed up again and whizzed in kicking, "Wake up! We are getting out of here!"

A loud yawn was heard and from out of the cell a blurred eye Taki emerged and Mamori couldn't believe things could get any weirder. Taki was a tall creature with bat-like ears and a slight hunch but he still had the same carefree attitude as before.

"Free at last!" he exclaimed, "and it was all thanks to my masterful skills!" he said opening his jacket up with a grin thrusting out his chest.

Sazuni rolled her eyes hands on her hips, "Sure it was. It was actually the help of the mistress of the king of Christmas Bowl! Hiruma is back!"

Taki's eyes widened a bit, "Can it be!? The devil himself has returned to us to set Christmas Bowl back to its former glory!" he said taking a heroic pose as if he was the one to deliver the news, "Then we must find him!"

Sazuni rolled her eyes again but nodded, "Yeah, " she whizzed back to Mamori, "You will show us to him right? We wish to see the lord and give him the last known report of the area."

"When we meet up with him again I'll be sure to introduce you," Mamori said with a smile approaching the end of the hallway to the sliding door, "So how do we get out of here?"

"Well there are escaped pod things somewhere I heard," Sazuni said, "Maybe we should head for those?"

Sakuraba nodded, "Anything with escape sounds like a plan to me,"

Mamori opened the door quickly and looked out around the hall beyond their cell block. It appeared all clear but then, who knew? This was a futuristic ship with cutting edge technology and sensors that could probably give them away to the NASA aliens on board.

She sighed and looked back at the others, "So how do we get pass the defenses? I think they probably have a lot of hidden sensors and cameras that could alert them to us,"

Sazuni grinned, "Leave it to me! A little magic and we will have them chasing their tails!" She whizzed down the hall and a cloud of golden pixie dust followed and a few beeps where heard but then went silent.

Taki leapt out into the hallway, "My sister has confused the technology but show me where it is and I will mess around with it until it doesn't work!" he laughed and followed the pixie down the hall.

Mamori looked back at the rest of the group, "Well let's head out then," She said with an encouraging smile. It seemed no one was particularly fond of following the two but then, they couldn't just leave someone who had assisted them.

The group moved down the hall, not a single alarm going off, Sazuni's illusionary magic working like a charm. Nevertheless they moved at a quick speed keeping an eye out for any guards as they followed the gremlin and the pixie through a maze of hallways.

"Do they know where we are going?" Rui asked , "They could be leading up right to the commander for all we know!"

"They are trying to get out as well and the pixie has been loose in their ship for some time. I think she has the best sense of where we are going of the bunch," Yukimitsu said, "Unless one of us knows the whole layout of the ship,"

"A very good point," Sena said in agreement, "we be best to finding a way out quickly though or pray for a miracle to get us out of this,"

Sazuni came to a stop hand on her chin, "I think it is the left...but I'm not sure. I've kept close around the brig so I wouldn't get lost,"

She bit her lip and glanced back at the others, to say something then a flash was seen and the little pixie was in the fist of a happy and familiar looking NASA alien, Panther.

"I caught it finally!" He said with a cheer putting the struggling pixie into a container, "And...Oh!" he looked up at the group now free of their cells, weapons poised. Sazuni yelled and banged on the side of container angrily.

"Guys! We have a break out! " Panther yelled into his transmitter. The ship exploded into action. Doors slammed open and aluminum foil dressed men ran into the hallway, weapons trained on the group, one of them glared angrily at them, "I told you these people where trouble didn't I Watt-tron!"

A glasses wearing robot pushed up his glasses nervously, "I'm not a behavioral robot Vice Captain Homer,"

"And it seems our little guests got loose, how odd," a snickering jeering voice said from behind them. Turning, Mamori saw another familiar face from the Aliens. It was Apollo dressed in the glittering space man uniform, the front covered in medals, a cigar clenched between his teeth now revealed in a big grin, "It seems we will have to heighten security no?"

"I think it was the pixie that sent them loose sir but I caught so we won't have to worry about it anymore," Panther said holding up the container with the angry pixie.

Apollo ignored Panther pushing past him without a second thought, "Bring them to the bridge. I want to have them all interrogated there for any information on these 'naga' creatures that we have seen destroying the planet and seems to be the ones in power,"

Sazuni bristled at the comment and Taki blinked, "Why those overgrown lizards are no match for lord Hiruma!"

Apollo laughed, " A wash out of a demon lord I've learned. He is of no threat,"

Mamori shook her head slightly knowing that if Hiruma, in either dimension, was ever called not a threat he would pay them back for the comment with interest. But then Hiruma had been missing for a while...

The group was prodded forward once more captured with no hope of getting free this time, the pixie now caged and being carried along by a glum Panther once more pushed aside by the commander.

"So close Homer! I think he was almost going to listen to me and take a look at my zero gravity shoes!" Panther said optimistically.

"Maybe....." Homer said with a small smile knowing truly the racist captain would never look at the hardest trying member for even a minute.

That was all probably about to change as the doors to the command bridge opened. Sazuni stopped her agitative banging and glaring and tilted her head. She looked over at Mamori and mouthed to her, "Something feels bad!"

Mamori couldn't agree more, the sudden sense of wrong coupled with the scent of brimstone and sulfur seem to enter the room. The people on the bridge where terrified looking going about their tasks quicker then usual causing Apollo to scowl, "And what the hell is going on with all of you? The intruders have been neutralized,"

"Oh no commander. You haven't neutralized all the intruders," a sneering voice said.

In almost slow motion the captain chair moved turned about revealing the once person she least expected to see here on this ship.

Hiruma was lounged back legs crossed, fingers together in a devious pondering way, with the most sinister grin, "You are dealing with the worse intruder to date right here,"

Apollo scowled at him," and who the hell are you!?"

The grin widened showing off an impressive set of canines and a very devilish look in his eyes, "The not so threatening king of Christmas Bowl, Yoichi Hiruma," the demon lord said with a mocking tone.

Mamori felt so glad that the demon lord was on their side when he began to laugh, "But I think it is time to show you just how 'un-threating I really am,"

He sat back in the chair and lifted on hand, holding one of the space guns dead centered at Apollo's forehead, "Now...let's talk negotiations no?"


End file.
